LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Max Redfield’s recruitment will be over in a matter of days and the California safety is experiencing one of the final benefits of it at the Under Armour All-America Game here this week.
“This is great,” the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder from Mission Viejo High School (Mission Viejo, Calif.) said following the week’s first practice on Monday.
“Obviously there are a bunch of talented guys here. It’s kind of cool to see them off the field and their personalities and all of that stuff. It’s been a really fun event so far.”
Redfield has had the chance to talk with players like Alex Anzalone and Hunter Bivin briefly as the Notre Dame commits try to get a couple last words in before Redfield announces his decision during the game’s live broadcast on ESPN.
“I’m announcing Friday,” said Redfield. “It’s going to be great. I’m excited about it.”
While Redfield is excited for the opportunity to announce his decision live on national television, he’s looking forward to the process to be finished.
“I’m really anxious to just get it over with and get this weight off my back,” he acknowledged. “It’s been pretty crazy the last few months.”
Redfield committed to USC in the summer, but a visit to Notre Dame in October eventually led to his decommitment. He’ll choose one of the two when he makes his decision on Friday.
Redfield likes the combination of athletics and academics that Notre Dame offers.
“They’re an all-around great school,” he said. “The academics and the football team, with the coaches and players they have there make it an all-around great school. When I took my visit there, the atmosphere was amazing.”
But there were reasons why he committed to the Trojans in the first place.
“They have the same things as Notre Dame,” he said. “They have great academics, it’s close to home, and I have a lot of friends that go there. I’ve been around the team a lot and I’ve developed pretty good relationships with the coaches.”
As Redfield avoids giving away any indication of where he’s headed, even though he says he does know now, he isn’t shy about saying what he’ll bring to the program he chooses.
“I’m going to contribute right away. I’m going to be a solid player that the rest of the team can rely on and I’m going to be a big playmaker.”