Elite Linebacker Jaylen Sneed To Visit Notre Dame On Monday
With Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman leading the team's defense and coaching the linebackers, the Fighting Irish have made a recent surge on the recruiting trail at that position. This past week, Notre Dame landed a commitment from Top 100 linebacker Josh Burnham, but Freeman is continuing to push for other top targets to add to the program's top five class and one of those targets is slated to be on campus this coming week.
Hailing from Hilton Head (S.C.) Island, 2022 linebacker Jaylen Sneed is an important target for Notre Dame this cycle. Sneed holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas, and he's the kind of prospect Notre Dame rarely gets.
Sneed, who stands at 6-2 and 215 pounds, told Irish Breakdown that he will be visiting South Bend on Monday, and that will serve as his first opportunity to check out Notre Dame's campus in person after taking multiple Zoom visits with the staff. In fact, Sneed took part in an important virtual call with Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly just yesterday.
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“They are talking about the defensive scheme and how I can be used,” Sneed said. “I've been talking to Coach Freeman a lot. I just did a Zoom today with Brian Kelly. He's a really good guy. It went well, and he told me Notre Dame is about championships but it's not just football or school.”
According to Sneed, the Fighting Irish have identified his pass rush ability as a quality that they would like to add to their program, which makes sense that they are pitching an opportunity to rush the passer and provide pressure off the edge to the No. 5 outside linebacker in the country.
Being located in South Carolina, Sneed does not have an extensive knowledge base about the Fighting Irish, but he is quickly learning about what makes the program such a prestigious school in the college football world. His upcoming visit will serve as a tremendous opportunity to learn more about the program while also taking in the atmosphere firsthand.
“I know a little bit about them, not like the whole thing about them,” Sneed mentioned. “It's a small school in terms of the tight-knit family type of community. It has great academics, great football. I like the coaching staff so far.”
As of right now, Sneed does not plan on committing to any school until after he visits the campus, so his college decision does not appear to be immediately on the horizon. If all goes as planned, Sneed intends to announce a list of top schools this Summer once he can take campus visits a bit more easily post-dead period. But in terms of which schools he would like to check out, Sneed has a pretty good idea of which visits he would like to take.
“Definitely Notre Dame, Clemson, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon,” Sneed stated. “Just pretty much I want to get to see everywhere because I don't want to make a decision without seeing the campus.”
Clemson has yet to offer Sneed, and they could be a program to watch should they extend one, but Notre Dame is doing a great job positioning itself with Sneed.
After picking up a commitment from Burnham this past week, Notre Dame holds pledges from two defensive ends, two linebackers and one cornerback. Coach Freeman has been tenacious in recruiting high-ceiling athletes to Notre Dame so far, and Sneed would fit that mold as a speedy pass rusher that can play in space or with his hand in the dirt and earned a Top 100 grade on the Irish Breakdown board.
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Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board
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