ND official gets high rating from Stadler
Rivals250 offensive tackle Alex Stadler out of Bealeton (Va.) Liberty took his first official visit of the season last weekend to Notre Dame. What did the 6-foot-6, 300-pounder think of the Irish on his trip to South Bend?
"It was awesome, the atmosphere, fans, campus, it was like something I never have seen before," the Rivals250 member said. "I was hosted by left guard Dan Santucci and he was a really nice guy and I had a good time with him and all the players. It seemed like the player's personalities meshed well.
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"I got there and went to the game and then afterwards went to the locker room and went to dinner with coach Weis and other coaches and players. On Sunday I did the whole academic thing."
Of course, Stadler partially was there to see Notre Dame play against Michigan State.
"The game was awesome with the entire atmosphere there," he said. "If you've ever been, it's awesome with the whole tradition and I've seen the movie Rudy and to see it first-hand is something else. The fans do pushups after scores and a whole bunch of students lifted me up and did pushups with me. It was fun and I thought what the hell, it's the only time I'll get to do it. On the field, I saw the lack of depth on their offensive line and they got no rest. That's probably what wore them down at the end of the game and it's a good sign for me as I could play early.
"On Sunday, coach Weis asked me if the loss hurt them in recruiting at all. I told him it probably strengthened them as I saw the team rally around each other and the fans were supportive and didn't leave."
On his visit, the four-star prospect talked too many of the coaches.
"On Sunday, I talked for a good hour with coach Weis and then a half hour with coach Latina," he said. "Weis really did his research on me and knew a lot about me which really impressed me. Coach Latina talked to me about schemes and it was good."
Stadler rated his trip to South Bend a 9.5.
"Probably the only reason it dropped a bit was because they lost, but it was an awesome visit," he said. "I would say they are up there now among my favorites. I went in to see what they had to offer and came out being wowed."
This weekend the No. 13 offensive tackle in the country will look to stay in-state as he heads to Virginia Tech for his second official.
"I just want to see the whole atmosphere like I did from Notre Dame," he said. "I'm going to take it all in and I want to see how the coaches interact with the players. I know they have a great program and Georgia Tech is a great team. It'll be interesting to see how they deal with the competition. I might just check out College Gameday when I'm up there too."
Stadler has scheduled one more official visit so far to Alabama on Sept. 30 when they play Florida.