Irish lead for 4-star DE
We are only in June and it has already been a very interesting recruiting roller coaster for four-star defensive end Ebenezer Ogundeko of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Thomas Jefferson. Ogundeko has experienced a commitment, a de-commitment, several impressive camp performances and a few changes in his announcement date. In order to get back on the recruiting trail, Ogundeko made his way to Notre Dame recently to check out the Irish in person.
While the offers have continued to pile up for Ogundeko, and now total upwards of 30, the athletic defensive lineman from New York had yet to hit the road for any extensive trips aside from more local visits to Connecticut and Syracuse. So with an open mind, Ogundeko set out to Indiana this past weekend.
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"It was good," said Ogundeko, who is 6-foot-4 and 237-pounds. "Everything impressed me. I liked everything. I really liked the facilities."
The visit to South Bend also gave Ogundeko the opportunity to further harvest his relationship with the coaching staff. A majority of his time on campus was spent with Coach Bob Diaco.
"I interacted with the coaching staff greatly," said Ogundeko. "I liked them a lot."
Because of his athleticism and size, some schools are looking at Ogundeko as a defensive end, while others are looking at him as a linebacker. Notre Dame seems to be taking a different approach.
"They're recruiting me as both a defensive end and a linebacker," said Ogundeko. "I'd like playing in their 3-4 defense and rushing off the end."
Coming from Brooklyn, New York, the South Bend, Indiana experience was definitely a different one for Ogundeko.
"Indiana was pretty nice," he said. "And I think different is good too."
Having recently proclaimed a top ten list that included Alabama, Arizona State, Miami, Boise State, Syracuse, Connecticut, West Virginia, Penn State, Florida and the Fighting Irish, this visit definitely seemed to finally create an order on top for Ogundeko.
"Notre Dame is No. 1," he said. "It's because of everything that I liked during the visit."
Ogundeko recently mentioned that he would also be taking a visit to Penn State in June, which recently offered, but that now seems to be off the table. In fact, while he did not want to elaborate, the Nittany Lions are no longer being considered at all.
No other visits are scheduled for the summer at this time, and Ogundeko just plans to work out to prepare himself for his senior season. Also, after originally deciding that he would make his final announcement at the Under Armour All-American game in January, and then changing his mind recently to move the date up to August 14th, Ogundeko has again decided to announce at the All-American game. This additional time will allow him to take a few official visits this fall, that have yet to be scheduled.