DE David Alston Is Notre Dame Football Material
David Alston has a bright future ahead of him.
The St. Paul, Minnesotan, David Alston, has recently been contacted by the Notre Dame coaching staff while they are in hot pursuit of tall, long, explosive defensive ends who can rush the passer.
Alston, whom I spoke with recently, tallied 31 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 5 sacks last season over just 9 games. He hasn’t been recruited by an abundance of Power 5 programs so far during his recruitment, but things are picking up as his film has caught the attention of recruiters.
David Alston has a father who also gave opposing coaches fits during his glory days, including Lou Holtz back in the late-80’s, according to one of Alston Jr’s coaches at Woodbury Senior in St. Paul, Minnesota, Lane Swansson.
“I could tell you that he has been bred to be a college football player his whole life. His dad played at Rice back in the late-80’s. I found an article from a Notre Dame newspaper, it said his dad was one of the guys that they were most worried about on the defensive line,” said Lane Swansson.
Minnesota DE/OLB David Alston could be on the verge of more offers. #Badgers will get him on campus for spring game. https://t.co/GPLYbhuqUC
— Jon McNamara (@McNamaraRivals) February 25, 2017
“He has really good genes. His mom was a discus thrower at the University of Minnesota,” added Swansson.
Swansson began coaching Alston early in his life on the basketball court. By the time he came out on the football field, Lane knew he was a special kid.
“His emotional, mental and social maturity is incredible. When he was an eighth-grader, he would hang out and talk to me during practice while other kids are goofing off. Eventually, other kids matured and now they understand him more. He’s the best leader we’ve had since I’ve been coaching,” explained Swansson.
“Kids respect him so much. It’s pretty incredible,” he added.
David Alston is an elite student in an academically challenging school. “He almost has a 3.9 GPA which isn’t easy at our school,” he said. ” We were ranked #1 a couple of years ago for college readiness in Minnesota. It’s a pretty tough school. It’s tough to get a 3.9 GPA in our school.”
Must Read: DE David Alston Gaining Interest From Notre Dame
The Minnesota phenom has been focusing on building and reshaping his physique.
“David, physically, has all the gifts necessary to be a successful football player. By the end of the season he was about 6’5, close to 230. He was working with a nutritionist and they were trying to reset his body a little bit. He dropped a lot of weight and got down to about 8% body fat,” Swansson explained.
“He was playing spring basketball too. It was all planned out. He’s going to get up to 225-230 by football camp this summer,” added Swansson. “He’s just trying to change his body. Last year, he tried to gain a ton of weight but it wasn’t necessarily the best weight.”
Alston’s smarts in the classroom prove to translate on the football field.
“What we know about David is he doesn’t make mistakes. He knows how to read blocks. He reads inside, watches for the kick-out, he’s just a smart football player. He’s a super smart kid in every way, shape or form,” said coach.
“He’s a strong kid too and athletic, quick-twitch. He just ran a 4.6. He works with a speed trainer,” explained Swansson.
Next, his coach talked about David Alston’s recruitment, which has been picking up lately.
“Iowa State has been recruiting David for a while. David went to camp down there last summer and he won every rep on one-on-one, including several reps against a 310-pound guy with multi-offers,” he said. “He kinda beat that guy up pretty good.”
“Stanford has reached out and asked for all of his transcripts. Pittsburgh and Michigan State are pretty interested in him,” Swansson explained.
“David is going to the Chicago Regional this weekend for The Opening, and will visit Northwestern. Northwestern is another school that has came on,” stated Swansson.
David Alston has an ideal frame to play defensive end at the college level. His impressive speed, strong and violent hands, attention to detail, and ability to rush the passer are all reason why I believe his recruitment will pick up in a big way following what may be a strong showing at the Chicago Opening Regional.
Must Read: Sinclair's Hot 5 Big Board - 2019 Notre Dame Recruiting
Notre Dame has been in contact with Alston and have invited him to attend one of their practices. He’s trying to sort out a time to make it to South Bend where he could be a fit. Considering his impressive academic strength and intriguing skill set at a position of need, Notre Dame will likely continue to develop a relationship with Alston.