Al Washington, Irish Staff Were Key Factors In Owen Wafle's Choosing Notre Dame
Despite just finishing up his sophomore year of high school, Princeton (N.J.) The Hun School defensive lineman Owen Wafle has already made his decision to be a part of the Notre Dame 2024 recruiting class. A big element of that decision came down to the coaching staff, who have continued to impress Wafle and his family throughout the process.
Between Al Washington, Al Golden and Freeman, the program was able to close on Wafle even through a series of coaching changes. Each one of them stand out imminently with their impact on the New Jersey standout, who moved up his timeline for a decision because of his excitement over what Freeman and staff are building.
“Notre Dame was recruiting me at first but when some of the coaches left, it went silent for awhile,” Wafle explained. “It was about a month and a half to two months before my coach had heard anything.
“When Notre Dame called my coach one day, I got their information and we started to communicate every week until I got the offer about six weeks later,” Wafle continued. “I was talking to Coach (Chad) Bowden and Coach Washington once a week following that.”
Those relationships with the coaches created the baseline for Wafle. The closing seemed to all conclude during spring practice when the 6-3, 270-pound defensive lineman and his father took a trip to see the coaches and team.
“We began building out relationships beyond that day. I went down there to check out the campus, to take the full tour, and I got to meet a couple of the other commits,” he explained. “It was cool going back up there and seeing everything again, while seeing the practice, seeing how everything is run, meeting Coach Freeman and Coach Golden.
“It was truly one of the coolest moments of my entire recruitment,” Wafle continued. “I say what influenced me the most early was probably just listening to Coach Freeman and having Coach Golden call my coach once a week to talk about me.”
The connection to the staff extends passed the traditional pleasantries and love for the Notre Dame program. His future defensive coordinator, a New Jersey guy himself, holds another unique connection with Wafle.
“Coach Golden and I, we basically both come from the same town,” he said. “We went to the same school for a year and he rags on me a little bit for leaving the school.
“Coach Golden is hilarious. He’s really funny and gets the job done,” Wafle continued. “He has these secrets to defense that I don’t think many people have. The levels he’s coached at, and also his football experience prior to coaching at Penn State, he just has a great football mind. He’s also one of the most personable guys there. You can really build a strong connection with him.”
By all accounts, Wafle’s deepest relationship has been built with Coach Washington, who he could not have been more complimentary of. Washington deserves a lot of credit for closing on this one.
“(Coach Washington) is one of the most professional dudes I’ve ever met, he is a legit guy,” Wafle explained. “When I went up there, he was taking us through what I would be doing up there, showing us some film. He knows what he’s talking about, has all these cool drills and techniques that he gave me so that I can work on.
Honestly, he’s just a really personable guy,” he continued. “I think I’ve built the best relationship with him. He’s one of the guys you can talk to or go to if you need anything. He’s a really cool guy. When we were talking, we kind of just stopped talking about football for a little bit. We just talked about life. It was really special and fun for me.”
Ultimately, the impact from Freeman can’t be understated. While every coach deserves their own credit, it’s his plan and staff he’s put together that has seemingly put the entire country on notice. His impressiveness extends past his recruiting prowess. It’s something that Wafle has taken notice of.
"Every other head coach I’ve met with, they always have that guy at the door that tells them your time is up with them," he explained. “With Coach Freeman, we literally sat down with him for forty minutes and just talked. I think it’s still maybe the best conversation I have to this day.”
He is a legit guy,” Wafle said. “I see him taking Notre Dame to a national championship in the next couple of years. He’s the guy I would want running my football program.”
That last sentiment is shared by many Notre Dame fans and faithful. The impact of the coaching staff continues to make waves across the recruiting landscape - Wafle included.
Wafle is ranked as the nation's No. 182 overall player and No. 12 defensive lineman according to Rivals.
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