Wide Receiver Jerome Bettis Jr. Has Had A Busy Off Season
When Notre Dame fans and supporters begin to take a stroll down memory lane, former running back Jerome Bettis is among one of the most prominent members to the tail end of the Golden Era. “The Bus” was a member of the Irish program from 1990-92 before being selected in the first round of the 1993 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.
The star runner went on to make six Pro Bowls, rush for 13,662 yards and was selected to the National Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Back on St. Patrick's Day, Notre Dame fans were once again reminded of the Bettis name during the Pot of Gold offer event. On that day, the staff extended an offer to standout 2025 Atlanta (Ga.) Woodward Academy wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., who is of course the son of the Irish legend.
The name is obviously going to hold a lot of weight. There are some inherent expectations that will follow. Unfortunately those assumptions do lose a lot of context for Bettis, who is still a developing player. It didn’t take long for football to become his main sport but he is one of those well rounded athletes with a varying background.
“Growing up my first sport was baseball,” Bettis said. “My parents told me that’s where the money is. I started playing that but I didn’t really love it. I kind of progressed into basketball and that was my first true love. I played basketball up until this year actually so I have been playing basically my whole life, from AAU to school ball.
“I really started playing football in the fifth grade,” Bettis continued. “Obviously I’ve been around football since I was a baby and that’s just how I have been raised. I didn’t really play it until I was older because my parents understand what comes with it so we held off on it for a little bit. Around fifth grade, he let me play and I’ve loved it ever since. Since then, I have been training and working at it.”
Being the best version of himself has been the priority now for the Georgia native every day. That, of course, includes being the best football player he can be. That comes with a lot of hard work.
“I work out once or twice a day for five to six days a week,” Bettis explained. “That consists of strength and conditioning, position work or even doing some track work to get my speed up. I just try to make sure I work on everything and remain well rounded.
“I think my god given ability, my size, is a big strength,” he added. “My frame being around 6-3 and 190 pounds gives me an advantage that other guys don’t have. My catch radius is probably the biggest asset of the game. If the ball is in my vicinity, I’m getting it.”
On top of the training, Bettis has remained busy from a recruiting perspective, as well as changing schools as well. Bettis played at Westminster School his first two years but will be playing at Woodward Academy this upcoming season. He has managed to keep his composure through so much chaos.
“Changing schools, that was a process,” he said. “Now with all this recruiting attention, it has been amazing as well, but something I pride myself on is my ability to stay focused. Throughout all of this, my dad makes sure that I stay humble. No matter what happens, I always continue to work. I have just been training and grinding.”
Navigating the recruiting process can be daunting. Luckily for Bettis, his father has been a huge support system to navigate it thus far. He has been an invaluable resource.
“It’s been great,” Bettis said. “This year has really started to pick up for me. It’s a process but I love it. It’s something that I haven’t been through but having my father, with him having a lot more experience, has helped to guide me.
“He does realize that recruiting has changed since he was a high school athlete himself,” he continued. “We are just taking everything in stride so it’s been great. Having these opportunities with some great schools, building these connections with some of these coaches, it’s been amazing.”
You can tell that his dad has rubbed off big time as he has created a thorough list of important criteria for making the best decision. Bettis knows what he wants from a school, and he’s searching for it.
“The main thing is to make sure that it is a school that fits me,” Bettis explained. “My family will support my decision to go wherever I want to go. Getting to go on all these visits while I’m young, getting to see all these campuses and getting to know these coaches, it’s a blessing.
“As I get closer and closer to my decision, I’ll have more information to really process and make that choice,” added Bettis.
Bettis currently holds offers from the Irish, Arkansas and Boston college among others. The 6-2, 175-pounder was active taking game day visits this past fall. He has been to Georgia Tech and Florida during that season, as well as having visited the Horseshoe for the Ohio State versus Notre Dame game.
He was recently on campus at Ohio State a couple of weekends ago. Bettis also will be heading out to Oregon at the end of the month, as well as heading to Notre Dame on April 22nd for the Blue-Gold Game.
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