Ezekiel Elliott grew up a Missouri fan, but he’s been paying attention to Notre Dame lately too.
“I just like the program,” the 6-foot, 195-pound junior running back/safety from St. Louis (John Burroughs) said. “Notre Dame plays on national TV every single weekend and I like that.”
Elliott didn’t get to see the Irish on TV this weekend, though, because he was at the game as an unofficial visitor.
“I really like Notre Dame,” he said. “It was a nice campus; nice facilities and they really impressed me.
“I just liked the buildings and how beautiful the campus was with all of the trees and the nice quads. I really liked the tradition. I saw the hallway where they showed all of the players that were drafted to NFL teams.”
Elliott was also impressed with how the Irish played in their win over Air Force and with Notre Dame Stadium.
“Notre Dame was really nice,” he said. “They came out and handled their business.
“The field had that old traditional look with the grass field, which I liked a lot. I went to the pregame, which was cool, and I enjoyed myself.”
Elliott got the chance to speak with Irish assistant Tony Alford during the trip.
“We were just talking about how my season is going,” he said.
The season has been going pretty good for Elliott. His team is 6-1 and he already has 19 touchdowns, 915 rushing yards and more than 100 yards receiving.
The visit was Elliott’s first this year and he doesn’t have any others planned, but could take one to Missouri.
“I’ve also been getting some mail from Mizzou and I’m probably going to make a visit pretty soon,” he said.
Elliott has some strong ties to the Tiger program.
“I’ve always been around Mizzou and I’ve been a Mizzou fan since I was a small boy,” he said. “My dad played football at Mizzou and my mom ran track at Mizzou.”
Elliott, who runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, does both sports as he’s also a standout performer in the hurdles. Academics will play a major role in his decision, but he’s also looking for a program that will allow him to do both sports.
“I’d like to run track and play football in college if possible.”
Elliott may be under the radar a bit because he missed most of his sophomore season with a broken collarbone.
