What's up, everyone? If you have been following along with the tidbits on the thread about the Stanford visitors, you would know Notre Dame will be hosting 2023 offensive lineman Chris Terek this weekend. Terek is a 6-foot-6, 295-pound senior from Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West High. Rivals has him ranked the highest among any other recruiting outlet. He is listed as the No. 218 overall player, No. 5 player in Wisconsin and No. 21 offensive tackle.
I caught up with Terek on Wednesday night to highlight him in our Stanford game visitors' story this week. Before that story posts, I wanted to share the transcript of our conversation. Here it is.
Inside ND Sports: When did Notre Dame first reach out to you?
Terek: "I talked to Notre Dame towards when I kind of started blowing up a lot, recruiting-wise. I talked to (ND). The day after they started talking to me, they had their fourth commit or whatever, and they filled up. So, obviously, they were full. And then, once they got that decommitment, they started talking to me. I'm the guy they want now."
How did Paul Chryst's firing affect your recruitment? Were schools reaching back out? What was that situation like for you being a recruit?
"Yeah, after coach Chryst got fired, a bunch of schools were hitting me back up and stuff like that. And, like, even different new schools are hitting me up too.
Which schools have reached out?
"It's pretty much like Iowa, Michigan State, UCLA and then Notre Dame. Pretty much those. Illinois."
How serious are you considering Notre Dame?
"The only school I'm interested in besides Wisconsin is Notre Dame. I don't care about any other schools that are Wisconsin or Notre Dame. I'm going to check out Notre Dame."
Why does Notre Dame fit those criteria for you?
"Notre Dame, they've got a pretty crazy track record. They do very well with their O-linemen. Coach Hiestand is awesome. And they seem like they're really building something there. And, of course, (2024 WR) Cam (Williams) is going there, and my kicker's committed (Marcello Diomede) from my school. The traditions at Notre Dame are insane."
What does that communication look like with Notre Dame? How often have you heard from them? And who do you hear from?
"Yeah, they text me every day. Coach (director of recruiting Chad) Bowden. I talk to (offensive line) coach (Harry) Hiestand on the phone. (Head) coach (Marcus) Freeman about twice. Yeah, I've been talking to them a bunch recently."
So it kind of seems like they're putting the full-court press on you?
"Yeah, pretty much. They tell me that I'm the only '23 they're really recruiting right now."
How do you sort of digest that, knowing that it seems like you're still pretty comfortable with Wisconsin? But it sounds like Notre Dame has sparked some interest. So just for you, how have you tried to take this all in all this attention and kind of balance your word with Wisconsin?
"It's kind of just the thing about Notre Dame, their history is rich. I'm a pretty big fan. I come from an Irish Catholic family. They're all huge Notre Dame fans. So, yeah, it's just a crazy opportunity. And obviously, it's a great school too."
It sounds like there's a lot to like for you as far as Notre Dame, but circling back to Wisconsin, what is it been that has allowed you to stay so strong on that pledge, even though there's been so much recent adversity?
"It's really just been (offensive line) coach (Bob) Bostad. He's one of the main reasons that I'm going there. And then just the way their program's run — that's something I want to be a part of. Coach Leonhard, the interim right now, I think he's an awesome coach. And I think that he can take that job."
Do you have some sort of an idea of when you would potentially completely shut things down? How would this visit maybe affect the potential outcome of your recruitment?
"Truly, Notre Dame was one of the schools like, this was the latest a school's really reached out to me. And I never got a chance to go there and see it for myself. It's like the one school I wasn't able to visit and really make sure that, like — after all the visits I went on, that I had offers from, Wisconsin was my place. But I never got to take a visit to Notre Dame, so this is gonna be my chance to really check it out."
What's your relationship like with (Notre Dame 2023 kicker commit) Marcello (Diomede)?
"Me and Marcello have been friends since sixth grade. We're in the same friend group. We hang out all the time."
Has he guided you through this process at all?
"He's been joking around with me a bunch. He's gonna be at the game too."
How many of those jokes have a little bit of seriousness in them, though?
"Obviously, it's pretty serious. I mean, he tells me about what he believes from Notre Dame and how their class really is a pretty good class,? It's just, they're building something really, really big there, as he's always telling me."
Reflecting on that message that Notre Dame has given you? You mentioned that you're pretty much the only 23 guy that you're recruiting, what have they told you that maybe they like about you, or the sort of importance that you could have for them building this class?
"They like me at guard. They just like the way I play the game. I'm a pretty hard-nosed dude, and I like to get after people. They like that mentality of things and just how physical and strong I am."
As far as Wisconsin, are you also going there to play guard?
"Yeah."
Had any schools looked at you at tackle?
"I think I could definitely play a little right tackle the next level, but I think guard is where a lot of the schools saw me at, for the most part. Probably 80% of schools wanted me as a guard.
Have you ever been to Notre Dame for a game or anything like that?
"I went as a fan to a Notre Dame game when I first moved here in like sixth grade. It was pretty crazy."
What's going to excite you most about getting back up there?
"That atmosphere I was in, I actually wasn't cheering for Notre Dame at the time. But the atmosphere there was crazy. The stadium was nuts. Obviously, I was pretty young at the time — I was in sixth grade — but I remember it was against Pitt. It was a pretty crazy experience."
Who were you rooting for, then?
"University of Pittsburgh at the time. My dad's a big fan."
Closing thoughts?
"I'm still 100% committed to Wisconsin, but I am going to check it out and see if this could also be a place I want to be at because I haven't gotten the chance yet to check it out."
I caught up with Terek on Wednesday night to highlight him in our Stanford game visitors' story this week. Before that story posts, I wanted to share the transcript of our conversation. Here it is.
Inside ND Sports: When did Notre Dame first reach out to you?
Terek: "I talked to Notre Dame towards when I kind of started blowing up a lot, recruiting-wise. I talked to (ND). The day after they started talking to me, they had their fourth commit or whatever, and they filled up. So, obviously, they were full. And then, once they got that decommitment, they started talking to me. I'm the guy they want now."
How did Paul Chryst's firing affect your recruitment? Were schools reaching back out? What was that situation like for you being a recruit?
"Yeah, after coach Chryst got fired, a bunch of schools were hitting me back up and stuff like that. And, like, even different new schools are hitting me up too.
Which schools have reached out?
"It's pretty much like Iowa, Michigan State, UCLA and then Notre Dame. Pretty much those. Illinois."
How serious are you considering Notre Dame?
"The only school I'm interested in besides Wisconsin is Notre Dame. I don't care about any other schools that are Wisconsin or Notre Dame. I'm going to check out Notre Dame."
Why does Notre Dame fit those criteria for you?
"Notre Dame, they've got a pretty crazy track record. They do very well with their O-linemen. Coach Hiestand is awesome. And they seem like they're really building something there. And, of course, (2024 WR) Cam (Williams) is going there, and my kicker's committed (Marcello Diomede) from my school. The traditions at Notre Dame are insane."
What does that communication look like with Notre Dame? How often have you heard from them? And who do you hear from?
"Yeah, they text me every day. Coach (director of recruiting Chad) Bowden. I talk to (offensive line) coach (Harry) Hiestand on the phone. (Head) coach (Marcus) Freeman about twice. Yeah, I've been talking to them a bunch recently."
So it kind of seems like they're putting the full-court press on you?
"Yeah, pretty much. They tell me that I'm the only '23 they're really recruiting right now."
How do you sort of digest that, knowing that it seems like you're still pretty comfortable with Wisconsin? But it sounds like Notre Dame has sparked some interest. So just for you, how have you tried to take this all in all this attention and kind of balance your word with Wisconsin?
"It's kind of just the thing about Notre Dame, their history is rich. I'm a pretty big fan. I come from an Irish Catholic family. They're all huge Notre Dame fans. So, yeah, it's just a crazy opportunity. And obviously, it's a great school too."
It sounds like there's a lot to like for you as far as Notre Dame, but circling back to Wisconsin, what is it been that has allowed you to stay so strong on that pledge, even though there's been so much recent adversity?
"It's really just been (offensive line) coach (Bob) Bostad. He's one of the main reasons that I'm going there. And then just the way their program's run — that's something I want to be a part of. Coach Leonhard, the interim right now, I think he's an awesome coach. And I think that he can take that job."
Do you have some sort of an idea of when you would potentially completely shut things down? How would this visit maybe affect the potential outcome of your recruitment?
"Truly, Notre Dame was one of the schools like, this was the latest a school's really reached out to me. And I never got a chance to go there and see it for myself. It's like the one school I wasn't able to visit and really make sure that, like — after all the visits I went on, that I had offers from, Wisconsin was my place. But I never got to take a visit to Notre Dame, so this is gonna be my chance to really check it out."
What's your relationship like with (Notre Dame 2023 kicker commit) Marcello (Diomede)?
"Me and Marcello have been friends since sixth grade. We're in the same friend group. We hang out all the time."
Has he guided you through this process at all?
"He's been joking around with me a bunch. He's gonna be at the game too."
How many of those jokes have a little bit of seriousness in them, though?
"Obviously, it's pretty serious. I mean, he tells me about what he believes from Notre Dame and how their class really is a pretty good class,? It's just, they're building something really, really big there, as he's always telling me."
Reflecting on that message that Notre Dame has given you? You mentioned that you're pretty much the only 23 guy that you're recruiting, what have they told you that maybe they like about you, or the sort of importance that you could have for them building this class?
"They like me at guard. They just like the way I play the game. I'm a pretty hard-nosed dude, and I like to get after people. They like that mentality of things and just how physical and strong I am."
As far as Wisconsin, are you also going there to play guard?
"Yeah."
Had any schools looked at you at tackle?
"I think I could definitely play a little right tackle the next level, but I think guard is where a lot of the schools saw me at, for the most part. Probably 80% of schools wanted me as a guard.
Have you ever been to Notre Dame for a game or anything like that?
"I went as a fan to a Notre Dame game when I first moved here in like sixth grade. It was pretty crazy."
What's going to excite you most about getting back up there?
"That atmosphere I was in, I actually wasn't cheering for Notre Dame at the time. But the atmosphere there was crazy. The stadium was nuts. Obviously, I was pretty young at the time — I was in sixth grade — but I remember it was against Pitt. It was a pretty crazy experience."
Who were you rooting for, then?
"University of Pittsburgh at the time. My dad's a big fan."
Closing thoughts?
"I'm still 100% committed to Wisconsin, but I am going to check it out and see if this could also be a place I want to be at because I haven't gotten the chance yet to check it out."
