Notre Dame Bags A Badger

Notre Dame picked up yet another commitment Monday in the form of safety Chris Badger - a former Stanford commitment who visited Notre Dame this past weekend. Badger committed to Stanford in March, but he told Irish Sports Daily that his weekend visit to Notre Dame blew him away and that he felt it was a perfect fit.

“I think it’s a perfect fit for me,” Badger stated. “Notre Dame is who I am, with what they offer.

“The beauty of the campus, the history when you’re walking through all the buildings, the facilities, the academics blew me away, I never knew how great they were. I just think the history of the stadium, the coaches blew me away with how knowledgeable they are and how ready they can make me for the NFL.”

Badger won’t be winning any track meets anytime soon, but what he lacks in top end speed, he more than makes up for with his hitting.  Badger is a hard hitting safety who delivers the knock out blow while still being fundamentally sound.  ESPN’s Scouting Report of Badger backs this up as well.

Very instinctive and is a quick reactor to both the run and the pass. Attacks downhill on run support and takes great angles to the football; rarely is out of position. A sure reliable tackler attacking from the inside out and in the openfield. Especially impressive defending the sweep and option before the ball can break the perimeter. A physical hitter that makes a ton of face up tackles; absolutely doesn’t shy away from contact. Tackles from low to high and explodes through the ball carrier.

Badger was impressive back in March at the Under Armour Combine in Los Angeles and

The well-built safety showed better range than testing speed (4.75 40) and impressed us with his 4.35 shuttle and solid footwork for a high-point safety during DB drills. The Stanford pledge benched 185 pounds 18 times and showed some of that upper-body strength getting physical with slots running up the seam and battling for position against outside receivers on deep routes. On film, you might not find a bigger hitter than Badger, which he couldn’t show in this setting. Still, we did see some great intangibles and athleticism.

Incoming freshman Manti T’eo played an integral role in Badger’s decision to attend Notre Dame according to what Badger told Irish Illustrated upon committing to Notre Dame.

Among the most important parts of the trip was time spent with top incoming recruit Manti Te’o. Badger, like Te’o, is Mormon and the two had a chance to talk about their faith.

“We went to church together on Sunday for a little while,” Badger said. “We both think it’s great being out here and representing our church and doing our best to represent our church and being great people and great football players.”

Safety is a major position of need in this recruiting class and Badger is an excellent start to recruiting at the position.  Look for Notre Dame to add another two safeties in this class.