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There’s plenty of reasons why Zeke Correll could be anyone’s favorite Notre Dame Fighting Irish recruit from the Class of 2019.
- Correll is determined to start on the offensive line as a true freshman, so he’s enrolling early to get a start on that. He’s undersized — listed anywhere from 275 to 287 pounds — so those extra months in Matt Ballis’ strength and conditioning program can only help.
- The Anderson High School product knows, practically, there’s only one spot without an incumbent for 2019. That’s at center, where Sam Mustipher will exhaust his eligibility following the playoff. So Correll, the county’s seventh best guard according to the 247 Sports Composite, has been practicing snapping.
- Correll had a dream, he thinks, in fifth grade, in which he was selected second overall in the NFL Draft. “I got mad because I wasn’t first,” the hulking lineman told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
- Correll’s celebrity crush is Gal Gadot, which demonstrates impeccable judgment.
Here’s my favorite reason:
Correll, who hails from Cincinnati, got an offer from Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes — and told them no.
Zeke Correll's commitment represents a rarity. He is the first Ohioan since Liam Eichenberg (4/19/15) to pick ND while holding an OSU offer.
— Jude (@andrewwinn) June 19, 2018
Other Buckeye State products who spurned Urban Meyer: Mailk Zaire, Jimmy Byrne, Elijah Taylor, Shaun Crawford & Tommy Kraemer. #NDFB pic.twitter.com/QOucVSb7kj
Yes, it took more than three years for Brian Kelly and his staff to coax an Ohioan with an offer from the powerhouse in-state program to abandon Columbus for South Bend.*
If Correll sticks with center, he’ll be competing against Trevor Ruhland, Colin Grunhard and Luke Jones for the position. Ruhland logged 339 snaps this year, tied for seventh among all offensive lineman, but those were at both guard positions. Grunhard got 24 snaps in garbage time against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Florida State Seminoles and Syracuse Orange. Jones did not see the field.
Excited to have @zekecorrell join the ND FB family, as he continues his families tradition of playing college football.
— Jeff Quinn (@CoachJeffQuinn) December 19, 2018
He understands what sacrifice and teamwork is all about. When you flip on the film he blocks with tremendous effort and competes to the echo of the whistle. pic.twitter.com/bQcgS9gWEj
Correll is the youngest of nine children. His dad is a preacher and all of his siblings have names from the Bible. (Ezekiel means “strong man of God.”) Caleb, the sixth oldest, is a recent graduate of Notre Dame Law School. Someone from his family attended Anderson High School for 23 consecutive years and his mother, Lisa, went there too.
* That’s one for you, Hank G.