Joe Otting's Path To Notre Dame Goes Back Much Further Than You Think

It would seem that Joe Otting was always destined to attend Notre Dame, even before he was born

When Topeka (Kan.) Hayden 2023 offensive lineman Joe Otting committed to Notre Dame on June 7th, most outsiders saw that the 6-4, 270-pounder made a pretty quick decision after having been offered just barely a month prior.

In reality, that process started much earlier. Otting visited South Bend for the Notre Dame matchup against Georgia Tech in November, and he kept some contact throughout the process leading up to the offer. Both Tommy Rees and Harry Hiestand made it out to Hayden to see Otting in the winter to size him up and make sure that he checked out physically.

The recruiting process can be an extremely long and daunting one. But for Joe Otting and his family, this relationship with Notre Dame did not just start back in November.

In fact, it started even before Joe was born and things have just begun to come full circle recently.

“I’m going to share a quick little story from 2003,” Joe's mother Debbie Otting explained. “Our family went up to Chicago one summer for vacation. Andy, our oldest, was eight at the time and our daughter Taylor was five. Joe wasn’t even born yet and we took my mom up with us. We go up to Chicago and do all the museums and aquariums and so forth and we decide to take a day trip and drive down to South Bend. We wanted to see Notre Dame, take my mom to see the campus and just spend the day walking around.”

It was the family's first time to South Bend and the allure of the Notre Dame campus did not disappoint. That was subsequently followed by an event that would add another layer to their family, while also effectively creating a path back to South Bend.

“That trip was early August so we went back home to Topeka and the kids were getting ready to start school. Taylor, our youngest, was going into kindergarten and I told Eric, 'Hey, let’s have one more',” Otting explained. “He told me, 'Well I don’t know. We have a boy and we have a girl so we already have two'.” I said, 'Oh, come on! We won’t regret it. We might regret it if we don’t have one but come on, let’s have one more'.”

“It took a couple of years but finally we had Joe in 2005,” she continued. “So fast forward to today, and when we went up to campus even this fall, I said, 'Can you believe that the kid we decided to have after visiting Notre Dame all the way back in 2003 has brought us back to South Bend?'”

“I shared that story with Coach (Marcus) Freeman and he said, 'Well, we are certainly glad that you decided to have one more',” she said with a chuckle.

That, of course, was some reminiscing going back to the Otting's initial visit to Notre Dame in November. At that point, Joe and the staff had sporadic conversation but there was no telling what would be next. Would Notre Dame take heavy interest? Would he ever return to South Bend?

Nobody could forecast the future, and where it has taken them. As a mother, Debbie has just been enjoying watching Joe’s journey as a recruit, no matter where he ended up. One thing is certain, he has had a dynamite support system to assist along the way.

“It has been great to watch Joe grow up,” she said. “He has such great role models. Obviously his father who is a former college player, but also his siblings. His brother Andy is ten years older than Joe and Andy attended Hayden High School. He was a three sport standout like Joe and played tight end for the Pittsburg State Gorillas. Joe’s sister Taylor also graduated from Hayden and she went on to play college volleyball at Emporia State University.”

Sports, as you can tell, were very important in the Otting house. Joe was introduced to a competitive environment early on, and it stuck.

“(His siblings) are both a decent bit older than Joe so we used to say that Joe basically grew up in a car heading to someone’s sporting event,” she reminisced. “He had them as role models. He saw the work they put in and what it took to make it at that level. He’s a kid who has been around sports for a long, long time. We have really enjoyed watching his journey.”

With Joe committed to the Irish, it still remains surreal sometimes for his parents. Debbie consistently brought it back to that first visit for Georgia Tech. That’s when everything really started to come full circle. From there, it was always going to Notre Dame for Joe if they pushed for him. That day still lives vividly in their memories.

“I still think back to his first time in South Bend. It was that November 21st game against Georgia Tech,” Debbie shared. "I remember having that moment like pinch me, is this really happening? Are we really back with our son in Notre Dame with our son as a recruit.

“We knew there was some interest but obviously the interest came back bigger in the spring,” she continued. “We had no idea if we’d be back or not, we were just taking it all in. After the game, he got the chance to go on the field and in the locker room. He was in awe. For a kid whose dream it was to always come to Notre Dame as a recruit, it was a very very special weekend.”

It may be true that everything happens for a reason, and the Ottings could be a perfect example of that. You can trace it back to that initial visit as a family nearly 20 years ago.

Was it meant to be? Let’s leave that up for interpretation. Regardless, the Otting family is living a dream. Their journey with the Notre Dame program is just beginning. 

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