Kareem recaps ND visit
Four-star Farmington Hills (Mich.) Harrison defensive end Khalid Kareem had visited Notre Dame previously, but his unofficial visit this past weekend gave him a more in-depth view of the program.
"The last time I was there was in October for the Stanford game," Kareem said. "Some of the things I had experienced (this time) was seeing the campus as a whole. This time we got to see more of what Notre Dame has to offer.
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"Everything about Notre Dame is based on tradition. The stadium has some of the original brick from when it was first (built)."
Kareem came away from his visit comfortable with the surroundings in South Bend, and also with how the Fighting Irish want to use him in their defense.
"More of a rush end or a five-technique," Kareem said. "That's where I like playing and where I have been playing since I was six or seven. I feel like I can click in that system."
Saturday's visit boosted Notre Dame's chances with Kareem, who is still in the process of identifying his top contenders.
"I am probably going to start dwindling the list down as time goes on, but I'm not sure of a specific date that will happen," Kareem said. "At the end of the day I am just going to weight my options and just see the positives about each situation."
It appeared Kareem's recruitment had ended this past winter when he made a commitment to Michigan State. After a few days, however, Kareem decided he made his commitment too early and re-opened the process. The Spartans remain a contender in his recruitment, though.
"Things have been pretty good with them," Kareem said. "I still keep in contact with the coaches, so we still have a pretty good relationship. After I talked it over with my parents they said just to take it slow, so that made me sit back and look at other schools, see what everyone else has to offer."
Kareem expects to see several more schools, but the only visit he has scheduled this spring is to Alabama on April 18. He saw two Big Ten programs prior to visiting Notre Dame.
"I went to Illinois and Northwestern last week," Kareem said. "Coach (Mike) Phair at Illinois is a good coach. He coached in the NFL for 13 years, so he has experience there. At Northwestern, their coaching staff is pretty good and Coach Fitz (Pat Fitzgerald) is a great guy."
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Kareem is ranked as the No. 13 weakside defensive end in the 2016 class. He is coming off a junior season in which he recorded 85 tackles and 19 sacks.