Justin Walters Discusses His Notre Dame Commitment

The talented Illinois safety explains his decision to commit to Notre Dame

Notre Dame picked up a big commitment this weekend when Bolingbook (Ill.) High School standout Justin Walters pledged to the Irish.

Prior to this commitment, Notre Dame only had one commitment on the defensive side of the football, defensive tackle commit Gabriel Rubio. Walters quickly became an important defensive target, and the staff put on the full-press to get the talented safety.

Walters made his second visit to Notre Dame this past weekend, his first visit back to campus since he visited for the 66-14 victory over New Mexico back in September. The most recent visit could not have gone better for Walters, who decided to wrap things up by the time it was over.

“The trip was great,” Walters explained. “I got to see everything that I haven’t seen yet, and I thought to myself why waste my and other coaches time going on visits when this is the place for me.”

Notre Dame once again showed Walters what makes it unique and makes it standout from other programs that are pursuing the 6-2, 175-pound safety. How a player responds to that pitch can often determine landing a player or not, and with Walters it made a significant impact.

“Notre Dame stands out because of the community and how everyone loves each other,” the Bolingbrook star said. “The school has 8,000 students, but there are 80,000 at the games. Also, the player walk is insane, and the academics are top notch. You can’t get that anywhere else.”

As Irish Breakdown publish Bryan Driskell made clear in his Class Impact article, it was very important for the Notre Dame coaching staff to land at least one talented true safety in the 2021 class. The Irish staff sees Walters as that kind of player, which is why he’s been a priority for so long.

“My relationship with the staff definitely helped (make my decision),” Walters explained. “Coach [Terry] Joseph and Coach [Clark] Lea really made me feel wanted there, and I can definitely see myself playing for them.”

When the Irish coaches evaluated Walters the role they viewed him playing in South Bend is the one that is familiar to Irish fans.

“The coaches see me as more of a strong safety, an Alohi Gilman type of player,” Walters noted.

This was a must get for the Irish staff. They set their sights on the talented Illinois safety and this weekend, they got it done.

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