It wasn’t that long ago that Notre Dame thought it was sitting pretty with Brayden Parks. Predictions came in for the Fighting Irish to land the 4-star defensive lineman, and there was even hope he might forego his official visit to Oregon this weekend. Unfortunately for Marcus Freeman and Co., the Brother Rice (Chicago, IL) star is still planning on hitting Eugene, and what he told Rivals analyst Max Torres ahead of that trip might make ND fans quite nervous.
“Everything excites me about Eugene,” Parks reportedly told Torres. Everything about that statement should make Freeman and his staff nervous. Ducks head coach Dan Lanning has a history of recruiting like one of the best in the country. If he’s been in Parks’ ear of late, and that’s why the defensive lineman is so excited about heading to Eugene, it could spell big trouble.
The Parks recruitment has had its fair share of twists and turns over the last few months. Notre Dame has to hope that if Lanning is starting to overtake the Fighting Irish, the 4-star prospect’s family connections could reassert themselves. Parks’ godfather is Notre Dame legend Chris Zorich, and his cousin is former running back Tony Jones Jr.
The good news for the Fighting Irish here is that with those kinds of connections and because it looked like Parks was about to close it out for the school in South Bend, Oregon has all the pressure on it. The Ducks will need to hit it out of the park in order to get him to see himself playing in Eugene rather than just around the corner from his hometown.
Brayden Parks’ Oregon visit threatens Notre Dame football recruiting momentum
It feels like even if Parks loves everything about his visit to Oregon, this fight won’t be won until December. Both Notre Dame and the Ducks aren’t letting this one go, even if he does give his pledge in June or July.
According to Rivals' Industry Recruiting Rankings, Brayden Parks is the No. 166 player in the country, the No. 18-ranked defensive tackle in the class, and the No. 9-ranked player out of Illinois. At 6-foot and 308 pounds, Parks already has the frame to play at the college level, and once he gets into a college strength and conditioning program, he could become a monster.
Brayden Parks doesn’t have a timeline for pulling the trigger. That could be another sign this recruiting fight will last well into the fall and winter. While Notre Dame once looked like the runaway winner for this talented defensive lineman, the celebrations might have been premature.
Add us as a preferred source on Google