Notre Dame Commit Kennedy Urlacher Goes In Depth On Picking The Fighting Irish

Arizona safety Kennedy Urlacher explains his decision to pick Notre Dame

Notre Dame picked up an important commitment from Chandler (Ariz.) High School safety Kennedy Urlacher, who chose the Irish over Penn State, Miami, TCU, Kansas State and Illinois. Urlacher was the program’s 13th commitment in the class and the first safety.

Before the commitment went public, the Arizona native sat down with Irish Breakdown and went in depth on why Notre Dame was the right choice. As it turns out, the plan was originally to draw this out longer but there wasn’t anything left for Urlacher to see.

"I was going to go on my official visits,” Urlacher explained. "Then I was really thinking about it, I didn’t know what else I needed to see. I was so high on Notre Dame and I was just ready to commit and make it official.”

This was the right time for him. I’m the end, he’s just excited to be Irish.

"It means a lot,” Urlacher said. "I’m just excited to announce it and let everyone know that I’m going to be coming to Notre Dame. I’m pumped, I’m really excited to get down there and hopefully make a difference.”

For the first twelve years of his life, Urlacher lived in Chicago when his father, Brian Urlacher was starring for the Chicago Bears. He was well versed in Notre Dame football but he hadn’t been there before until April 15th. That visit cemented things for Urlacher.

"The visit was big, honestly,” he said. "Going into it, I didn’t know what to expect. Once I hit campus, it just felt like home. It was great.

“The whole coaching staff over there is great. Coach (Al) Golden is great,” Urlacher continued. “Coach (Chris) O’Leary is great. Coach (Chad) Bowden is great and so is Coach (Marcus) Freeman. Really after meeting every coach, it was an easy decision for me.”

The uniqueness of the Irish program is something that can’t be replicated. The majority of his top six schools could offer some of the same characteristics but very few could offer everything that Notre Dame could.

"Really every school in my top six plays big time football and Notre Dame is obviously one of those,” Urlacher said. "Not many can get big time football and a good education. Really it was just a win-win situation for me.

"As a person, I’ll be a great fit,” he added. “There’s a lot of people from the Midwest area, which I grew up out of, so it’s good. Obviously recruited as a safety and hoping to bring something to that room.”

Along the way, Urlacher’s family was a massive help to making this decision. While his father’s recruiting experience was much different, there was still valuable insight that was added. He understands how fortunate he was to have the support, which ultimately steered him to the Irish.

"They were definitely a big help,” he said. "They were rooting for Notre Dame the whole way. It definitely helped me to make that decision. It was definitely a big help.”

Urlacher doesn’t just bring his last name to the table. He is also a talented player whose best football is ahead of him. Notre Dame gets to add a talented player, even better person and fantastic asset to the program overall.

Urlacher has quickly risen on the recruiting trails after a slow start to his process. The 6-1, 180-pound defensive back has seen his offer list quickly expand over the last few months. Some of the premier programs who have offered include the Fighting Irish, Miami, Penn State, TCU, Nebraska, Washington, Iowa, Kansas State, Arizona State, Arizona, Cal, Stanford and Kansas among others.

As a junior, the Chandler standout put together a successful campaign. He finished that season with 34 total tackles, a tackle for loss, an interception and two pass breakups. Urlacher also returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown on the season and blocked a kick as well. 

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