Shrive Talks about Growing Up a Notre Dame Fan
Eric Shrive was thought to be right at the top of Notre Dame’s recruiting board this year and most considered him a lock for the Irish. Shrive unexpectedly committed to Penn State last week though despite growing up a Notre Dame fan. In an interview with the Altoona Mirror, Shrive talks about picking Penn State despite gorwing up as a ND fan.
It was pretty well known Shrive’s childhood favorite was someone other than the Lions. Someone just as interested in getting Shrive’s signature on a letter-of-intent in February.
“I was actually,’’ Shrive said, “a Notre Dame fan growing up.’’
‘‘I just knew Penn State was the place for me when I established a relationship with the coaches,’’ Shrive said. ‘‘It’s only two hours from my house. They have great facilities.’’
AdvertisementNot only did Shrive grow up a Notre Dame fan, but his father is a Notre Dame fan, and the Scranton area has a big Fighting Irish fan base. Still, Shrive, who visited 10 prospective colleges between last season and this spring and attended the 2007 Notre Dame/Penn State game at Beaver Stadium, didn’t feel pressured to play for his childhood favorite.
‘‘Yes, [this is] at big Notre Dame community, but it’s probably a bigger Penn State community,’’ Shrive said.
I still can’t get my head wrapped around this one. It’s not that he committed elsewhere that really shocks me, its the timing that does. Most thought he would wait until the season started to see how the Irish looked before committing somewhere else. Instead, he committed four months before the season started seemingly out of the blue.
He mentions in the article that he is 100% committed to Penn State, but we’ve heard that before from recruits the past two seasons, so there is always a chance he reconsiders if say Penn State suffers a season as we did a year ago. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen though.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
[…] a 15 year old victim of unrequited love, I just don’t get this and I refuse to believe it’s really […]
More likely, a momma’s boy and does not want to venture away from home??
Oops……….not politically correct? How about Neo-phobia of leaving home!!!!!!!!!!
that’s dumb
“i grew up a ND fan and i always root for them but now that they gave the chance to play for them and i run to another team that ND fans hate.”
Well, if it was not a euphoric “YES” to Penn State, we may very well receive a second look after several wins into the season?
Fingers crossed as always in these matters.