Pass Rusher Gus Ritchey Recaps Notre Dame Irish Invasion Experience

One of the top players in attendance at the Notre Dame Irish Invasion camp was 2025 Pittsboro (N.C.) Northwood athlete Gus Ritchey, who returned to South Bend for the third time this off-season. This experience was big for Ritchey, who has been active on the visit trail over the last several months. While he is also being recruited as a tight end by some schools, Notre Dame is targeting him as a pass rusher. Ritchey felt like he showcased that next level talent that the Irish staff has taken a liking to early on.

"Camping at Notre Dame was awesome,” Ritchey told Irish Breakdown. "I loved it. Between Coach (Al) Washington and Coach (Nick) Sebastian, I honestly learned so much. They really liked the way I performed, and I loved the way they coached. We did a lot of drills and 1-on-1s and I think they were really happy with my performance. It's always a lot of fun to be able to get out there and prove yourself and I was able to do that.”

Since being offered back on March 22, Ritchey has managed to develop a strong bond with the Notre Dame staff. They are a team that has been standing out big time early on.

"My relationship with Notre Dame has been developing great,” Ritchey said. "I love the staff there. Coach Washington is one of the most hands-on coaches I have ever been around. He's a great teacher. We recently spoke about how they see me fitting at Notre Dame and it was really exciting to hear. I can't wait to get to a game this fall.”

Overall, the recruiting process has been going well. It doesn’t look to be slowing down much for Ritchey in the near future.

"Recruiting has been going great,” he explained. “This part of recruiting is a lot of fun. It's great to see how the coaches operate during drills and how they teach, so I like visiting and even participating at camps.

“I recently went to North Carolina and am going to NC State and Miami this week,” Ritchey added. “I'm really excited because these are all schools that are very high on my list. I'm going to Ohio State and North Carolina again later this month. I also have the Rivals Five Star Showcase coming up in Atlanta.”

Notre Dame is moving the needle for the North Carolina native. They are one of the top schools sticking out early on, which is impressive when you consider his extensive offer list.

"Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina, NC State, Duke, and Maryland have done a really great job,” said Ritchey. "I really like schools like Virginia Tech, Colorado, Louisville, and Florida as well. There are a few others that have recently stepped up that I'm pretty excited about as well.”

The 6-3, 230-pound athlete has already garnered the attention of several big time programs. Some of his notable offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Penn State, Texas A&M, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Ole Miss, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke among others.

Ritchey is also well liked from a recruiting ranking perspective. He is currently pegged as a four-star recruit by Rivals, the only site who has evaluated him thus far. They have him ranked as the No. 102 overall player and No. 8 strongside defensive end in the 2025 recruiting class.

As a sophomore, Ritchey put together a dynamic season on both sides of the football. As the team’s starting tight end, he hauled in 32 receptions for 490 yards and five touchdowns. He would also rush for a touchdown on the ground.

On defense, he collected 61 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and ten sacks. Ritchey also forced two fumbles as well.

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