2022 Michigan Standout 'Emotional' About Notre Dame Offer

2022 Michigan linebacker Nolan Ziegler is a Notre Dame legacy, which made his offer from the Irish a big moment

We mentioned here on Irish Breakdown two weeks ago that Notre Dame was close to offering a talented 2022 defender from Michigan, and that is exactly what happened on Wednesday. 

Grand Rapids (Mich.) Central Catholic hybrid athlete Nolan Ziegler received the coveted Notre Dame offer, and the Irish joined the in-state Wolverines as the early favorites for his pledge.

Ziegler has been on the phone with Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn every Monday for the last several weeks, and he has been in touch with defensive coordinator Clark Lea and senior analyst Nick Lezynski as well.

“I’ve been calling him (Coach Quinn) the past three Mondays,” he told Irish Breakdown. “I’ve also spoken to Coach Lea and Coach Lezynski. I like both of those coaches a lot, and then Coach Quinn is good friends with my head coach, as they used to coach together.

“My coach has been talking to him about me since the start of the spring,” he continued. “Because of COVID-19, they haven’t been able to come in and see me, but they are starting to talk to me more and now I have the offer, so that relationship helped a lot.”

While Quinn has been the Irish assistant Ziegler has been in contact with the most, it was Lea that was able to connect with the Michigan prep prospect and officially make the offer.

“I got on the phone with Coach Lea last week, but I was told to give him a call on Wednesday (August 5th),” he mentioned. “He wanted to see me do some on-field drills and see how my hips move. After that, it was like a day later, that’s when I got the offer. Coach Lea is a great guy, and I really like talking to him. I am excited to meet him in person.”

The moment Lea offered meant a lot to the entire Ziegler family. The ties to Notre Dame run deep, and it was always an offer that was going to be taken with a lot of excitement.

“It was really emotional for me,” he explained. “It is every kid's dream to get an offer like that, and growing up watching Notre Dame as a kid and just knowing that all my hard work is paying off. I am living a dream right now, and that is pretty sweet.”

With the Notre Dame and Michigan offers now in hand, it is no secret that those two schools stick out above the rest. They were dream offers for Ziegler, and they sit at the top of his list right now. While he hasn’t come out with an official top list yet, the 6-4, 205-pound linebacker said six schools are sort of sticking out right now.

“Michigan and Notre Dame are the top two right now,” he stated. “They are the closest and biggest schools that have offered so far. Iowa, Nebraska, Boston College and Cincinnati are all programs I really like as well.

“I want to be able to visit and see what the schools are like,” he continued. “That would be my preference before committing, but if it came down to it I should be able to make my decision without taking visits.”

Ziegler is currently a three-star recruit on 247Sports and Rivals, but with his size and athleticism I don’t see that being the case for much longer. 

He currently plays safety for Central Catholic, but at the collegiate level most colleges like him in that Rover role, or could even see him growing into an edge rusher. Regardless of the position, he is now a recruit that Notre Dame is prioritizing in the 2022 class and will have a very good chance at landing down the road.

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