By Sunday night, Massa could be Irish, too, according to his coach, Steve Specht.
“I think it’s a dream come true for Luke from the standpoint that he grew up with the ‘Play Like A Champion’ plaque above his bed,” Specht said.
“As a little boy, he always dreamed of going and playing at Notre Dame. And now it looks like he’s going to take his visit.”
The visit is possible because of Specht’s efforts in getting Kelly to recruit the same player Kelly got to commit to Cincinnati last spring.
“I pursued him,” Specht said of Kelly. “I said, ‘Brian, come on, Luke would love to go. What do you think?’ And that kind of got the ball rolling.”
Kelly had not planned on again recruiting Massa, who completed 162 of 242 passes for 1,800 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions, Specht said. Specht said many people in the Tri-State area are still upset Kelly left the Bearcats for Notre Dame in December.
“I don’t think Brian wanted to muddy the waters or ruffle any more feathers in Cincinnati,” Specht said. “And he wasn’t going to pursue any of the kids that had committed to Cincinnati out of respect for the program that he built.
“I told him, ‘You did a lot for the city and you don’t owe the city anything else. You moved on.’ But I think he felt he loved Cincinnati and he wasn’t going to do anything that would hurt the program any more.”
That left Specht with a decision. He could drop it or keep going.
“So I pursued it hard for Luke because I knew it was always Luke’s dream and I knew Brian always loved Luke,” Specht said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Specht said if former Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis had offered Massa a long time ago, Massa might have already committed to Notre Dame.
Specht spoke with his friend, former Irish defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. Tenuta said last spring Notre Dame wanted to wait.
“The only other school Luke was interested in was Notre Dame,” Specht said. “And Charlie Weis was not interested in Luke.”
When Massa asked him what he thought, Specht told Massa he did not think Notre Dame would offer. And Massa opted for Kelly and the Bearcats last spring.
If Massa opts to commit to Notre Dame Sunday, Specht believes they are getting quite a prospect.
“He will be a typical Brian Kelly project quarterback,” Specht said. “He’s going to bring his little skinny 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame in and in two years he’s going to be 6-5, 225 to 230. He’s going to develop his arm strength.
“His upside is unbelievable. He’s pretty damn good right now. The upside for Luke is bigger than anybody I have ever coached.”
“I will be shocked if he didn’t commit at the end of the visit,” he said. “But they are kids and you know how they change their minds.”
