Four-star cornerback Eric Cuffee doesn’t need to see anything else from Notre Dame after his official visit.
Eric Cuffee might not see Notre Dame again during the recruiting process.
That might be just fine. Cuffee, a four-star cornerback from Waco, Texas, returned to South Bend last weekend for an official visit. He had already made the trek in June for the Irish Invasion. Both trips encompassed multiple days and considerable depth.
Basically, Cuffee feels like he knows Notre Dame just about as well as he needs in order to make an informed decision down the road.
“I’ve seen everything I need to see,” Cuffee said.
Cuffee came up for the Texas game alone after having made the previous trip alongside family.
This time around school was in session and the Irish opened with a 38-3 demolition of Texas, another of Cuffee’s options.
Cuffee has listed Notre Dame, Texas, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Michigan, Ole Miss, TCU and Texas A&M among the programs he’s still considering. He’s only taken the one official visit so far.
“I got to see some things that I liked from both teams and some things I didn’t like from Texas,” Cuffee said. “Just seeing that helps me out a lot in my recruitment and things like that from the standpoint of just how to put my schools.”
Cuffee zeroed in on the Notre Dame defensive backs and position coach Todd Lyght in particular.
“I think coach Todd Lyght is a one-in-a-million coach with as much as he’s accomplished in life,” Cuffee said. “On the football side of things he’s accomplished a lot. It would be great to be coached by him.”
Cuffee spent considerable time with Lyght, defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder and head coach Brian Kelly during the visit.
All three stressed their need at defensive back in the Class of 2016.
“They told me a lot of things,” Cuffee said. “They told me they really want me and need me up there … They said they like my press technique a lot and they could use it a lot in their defense. It would be a great help to what they do.”
Cuffee also connected with current players. Freshman safety Mykelti Williams served as the primary host.
“He’s from about two hours away from that place,” Cuffee said. “He said it felt like home to him. I could see where he’s coming from when he said it feels like home and stuff like that. But he just told me a lot of great things from an academic standpoint and things like that.”
Right now Cuffee has no other official visits scheduled. But he does plan to make some game day trips. Baylor could have Cuffee on campus this weekend. He’s also targeting visits to Texas A&M and Texas.
Adding more official visits to the list remains a work in progress.
“I haven’t decided that yet,” said Cuffee, who plans to announce a commitment at the Under Armour All-American Game. “I have to work on my schedule.”
