Antoine Deslauriers Goes From Unlikely Superstar To Key Notre Dame Target

Star 2025 linebacker Antoine Deslauriers goes in depth on his unique background

Notre Dame extended an offer to Rabun Gap (Ga.) Nacoochee School star linebacker Antoine Deslauriers, who has one of the more fascinating stories of any player in the 2025 recruiting class. 

Deslauriers, who is one of the biggest risers of any linebacker in the class, is originally from Canada. The Irish program has done some outstanding work up north in recent memory, attaching talents like Chase Claypool, Devan Houstan, Armel Mukam and Sean Sevillano.

In an interview with Irish Breakdown, the talented defender went in depth in his story. From CFL hopeful to Georgia prep superstar, it has been a wild ride for Deslauriers.

"I played five years of high school, which is just somewhat of a different format of school than here in the United States,” he told Irish Breakdown. "In my last year, I had really good tape and had several prep schools start to reach out. I decided that I wanted to chase the football dream.”

"Coach (Derek) White flew (up) to Montreal, Quebec,” he continued. "We quickly got to know each other. When I came to visit Rabun Gap, I quickly saw how special of a relationship he has with his players. That was what really drew me to the school.”

Deslauriers made the decision to finish his prep career at the Nacoochee School, and made the move by himself. It was a tough transition early, but he was able to get through it with the help of his new coaches and teammates. Things have obviously gone well since making the move.

"I got here on July 31st,” explained Deslauriers. "For about three weeks it was just about football and making the transition. There was no school yet. I was able to start to get comfortable.

"Everything is different,” he added. "All of the school work is in English. I wasn’t sure what everything meant. When I got my first scholarship offer, I had to ask my head coach, Derek White, what that exactly meant and everything that went with it. They still make fun of me for that.”

While Deslauriers may not have known what a scholarship was early on, he certainly does now. Even with the 2023 season being his first in the United States, the 6-1, 225-pound defender has been garnering a lot of interest in recent months. He now holds offers from the Fighting Irish, Miami, Oklahoma, Florida State, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri, NC State, Maryland, Louisville, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, UCF and Duke among others.

His transition wasn’t just to school and everyday life either. Deslauriers also needed to get the hang of American football. In Canada, things are quite different. They play on a bigger football field, with 12 players on the field for each side. It’s much more spaced out and an adjustment was needed.

"Offensive linemen are bigger, they move quicker,” he stated. “The skill position players are also faster and bigger. It was definitely something I had to adapt to. I almost had to relearn how to play. My landmarks were different, the spacing was different.”

In just his first season with the Eagles in 2023, Deslauriers finished with 72 total tackles in 12 games played. He also collected 18 tackles for loss, two sacks, three interceptions, four quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and three pass breakups.

If that is a season of adjustment, things could get scary for Rabun Gap opponents in 2024. Keep an eye out for Deslauriers, just the most recent football success story coming from up North. 

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

2024 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @RiseNDraft
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter