Notre Dame a dream offer for George Karlaftis

CHICAGO – Rivals100 class of 2019 defensive end George Karlaftis’ first three Power Five offers all came from in-state programs, with Notre Dame being the most recent to join the list.

“(Notre Dame) is one of my dream schools and it’s just amazing to get an offer from them,” Karlaftis said. “Everyone is so nice up there, the program has a great history and a lot of pros have been through that program, so it is just amazing and a blessing.”

Notre Dame extended the offer to Karlaftis on April 1 after he attended a spring practice in South Bend. He also visited for the Fighting Irish’s Stanford game last fall.

“It’s a really pretty campus,” Karlaftis said. “It’s small, family-based and everyone knows each other. I like that because I come from a small town.”

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound sophomore could project to tight end in college, but Notre Dame sees him as a defensive end in their system.

“I like it. It is an aggressive, four-man front getting to the quarterback and that’s what I’m all about,” Karlaftis said.

This spring also gave Karlaftis a chance to check out the Purdue Boilermakers and see how he fits into their style of play.

“I went to their spring game and they showed a lot of love there,” Karlaftis said. “Everyone has been great there. Their offense is really up-tempo and their defense keeps up with it, so there’s a lot of conditioning. That’s right up my alley because we’re a team like that – up-tempo – so it could be a great fit.”

Karlaftis’ most recent scholarship offers have come from Mid-American Conference programs Toledo and Western Michigan, running his total number of offers to six. He has also started to garner interest from the likes of Alabama, Penn State and Iowa State.