When Ed Warinner first spoke to Logan Tuley-Tillman, the Notre Dame offensive line coach told the offensive lineman from Peoria, Ill., that he was one of the Irish’s top targets in the Class of 2013.
On Saturday, Warinner let head coach Brian Kelly prove it when Tuley-Tillman took an unofficial visit to South Bend.
“Coach Kelly said he liked my film and expressed that he liked what he saw and he offered me a full scholarship to play at the University of Notre Dame,” the 6-foot-7, 284-pound junior from Peoria Manual said.
“It feels great. It’s motivating. It shows how far I've come.”
Tuley-Tillman has seen his recruitment explode just this week. The offer from Notre Dame was his third major offer in four days, to go with Ohio State and Michigan. Tuley-Tillman also has offers from Illinois, Indiana and Missouri.
The offer from Notre Dame put the Irish at the very top of his list of schools.
“They’re definitely in the top two, no doubt,” said Tuley-Tillman, who added Michigan is his other top school at this point.
Tuley-Tillman, who pointed to the campus life and the support system at Notre Dame as key factors, knew the offer from the Irish would come eventually, but was still honored.
“I was really excited,” he said. “I knew I deserved it and worked for it and have the ability and talent level to play at that level.”
He was excited about getting a closer look at Notre Dame during his first visit to campus on Saturday.
“I got to see everything,” he said. “I touched the sign, ‘Play Like A Champion Today.’ That was sick. The campus was great. It had a real good vibe to it. It was something I’d never seen before. Walking through the cathedral and seeing how spiritually involved the whole campus is.”
Tuley-Tillman also got to see Touchdown Jesus.
“I took a big picture of it,” he laughed. “That was great. It made my whole day.”
The talented offensive tackle had the chance to watch the Irish practice in preparation for this month’s Champs Sports Bowl.
“It was really good,” he said. “It was exciting and fun to see. They play at a real fast pace and I saw a whole lot of stuff that I liked and could see myself doing.”
He also had the opportunity to meet with several Irish coaches.
“It was great,” he said. “They’re all really good guys. I sat down and talked with them for a while. I talked with basically the whole staff.
“It was an overall great time.”
