Notre Dame lands Rivals100 OT Quinn Carroll
When he was a youngster growing up in Minnesota, Quinn Carroll’s father made sure Notre Dame football was always on the Saturday afternoon television. That early exposure no doubt helped the Fighting Irish land the commitment of Carroll, who has grown into one of the country’s top class of 2019 offensive line prospects.
Notre Dame had long been considered the favorite to land Carroll, and the official announcement was made Tuesday evening on his hometown NBC station.
After accumulating more than 30 scholarship offers, Carroll narrowed his focus to a top six of Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin in March. He then took official visits to Virginia Tech, Penn State and Notre Dame over a nine-day period in April, concluding with the trip to South Bend the weekend of April 19.
Going into the Notre Dame official visit Carrol had an idea he may not need to take the process out further. His first visit to Penn State just days earlier was an eye-opening experience that genuinely raised the Nittany Lions’ stock, but Notre Dame had built a commanding lead and were able to solidify it with the official visit.
“It’s a faith-based institution, outstanding academics and that same awe around the program is still there,” Carroll said of Notre Dame last month. “I feel if you ask just about anybody that there’s just a tradition and mystique of the program.”
Former Notre Dame offensive linemen Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson went in the first round of last week’s NFL Draft. Carroll will look to continue that offensive line tradition when he suits up in the Blue and Gold starting in 2019.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound Carroll is ranked as the top ranked player in the state of Minnesota, the No. 6 offensive tackle and the No. 33 overall prospect in the 2019 class.
