Notre Dame Recruiting: 4-Star LB Matthew Bauer Commits!
[review] It was not all bad news for Notre Dame on Wednesday. While the Irish lost a potential star player in Alize Jones for the 2016 due to ineligibility, they picked up yet another 4-star recruit for the class of 2018 in Matthew Bauer.
It didn’t take long for Bauer to jump on a Notre Dame scholarship offer. Bauer visited Notre Dame unofficially this week and jumped at the chance to join the Irish class shortly after. This week’s visit wasn’t his first to Notre Dame. Bauer was part of Notre Dame’s recent Irish Invasion – another sign of the event’s immense success.
Bauer took to Twitter to share the good news.
Blessed Beyond Measure ☘☘☘ pic.twitter.com/GwQ79lP5am
Advertisement— Bo Bauer (@____bb52) August 3, 2016
Matthew Bauer, who goes by “Bo”, comes on board to Notre Dame’s class of 2018, as one of the highest rated defensive recruits in the fledgling group. 247Sports ranks Bauer as the #2 ILB and and #95 overall prospect regardless of position. At 6’3′, 215 lbs entering just his junior season at Cathedral Prep in Erie, PA.
Prior to committing to Notre Dame Bauer held offers from Penn State, Pitt, West Virginia, and Michigan State among others. 247Sports also listed Jim Harbaugh as the primary recruiter for Bauer for Michigan although the Wolverines had not yet extended an offer. Still, the head coach rarely gets involved for a recruit that isn’t going to be a priority.
Bauer comes on board as the third linebacker already for Notre Dame in 2018 but is the first inside backer of the bunch. Bauer joins Ovie Oghoufo and Justin Ademilola in the Notre Dame ’18 linebacking corps although it’s very possible that either could grow into a defensive end – Ademilola specifically. Still, it’s July 2016 and Notre Dame’s class of 2018 already has three 4-star linebackers.
Add Bauer to his fellow linebacker commits for 2018 and the trio that Notre Dame currently has committed to its class of 2017 – Pete Werner, Drew White, and David Adams and it’s very easy to see that the linebacker position has received a lot of attention from linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Mike Elston.
Bauer’s commitment adds to the already ridiculous start of Notre Dame’s class of 2018. Notre Dame now has six commits – all 4-star or better – for 2018 and the Irish are now ranked #2 in 247Sports’s very early team rankings. Of the four, six are on the defensive side the ball.
Matthew Bauer Sophomore Highlights
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
Umm, Bob Sanders and Mark Stepnoski?
Ahhh have we forgotten Mike McCoy and Fred Biletnikoff?
Can he be the biggest thing out of Erie since Dick Arrington? Arrington was a great wrestler, and in ’65 while Ara was still building his depth, Arrington often played both ways. One of the enduring images of the era, and sorry, I don’t have a picture to share, is the squat Arrington, hands on hips, watching his 10 teammates on one unit leave to be be joined by his ten teammates on the other unit.
Interesting, though completely irrelevant, is that Dick Arrington was born in Kiln, Mississippi, the hometown of Bret Favre.
May Mr. Bauer, Bo dream big dreams, but if he wants to see an Erie role model, let him get a cutup of Dick Arrington and learn from it!
Kid’s got SERIOUS quicks, and he’s only a Soph? Keep on the straight-and-narrow and make The Irish (and us loyal fans) happy!