Sounds like Edina’s Quinn Carroll will announce Notre Dame as his college choice tonight on KARE 11. The offensive tackle is among the most sought after prep players in the country for the class of 2019 and he has shown considerable interest in the Golden Gophers, but I will be surprised if Carroll doesn’t verbally commit to the Fighting Irish during the 10 p.m. newscast of the Minneapolis NBC affiliate.
“I would be absolutely flabbergasted if it’s not the Notre Dame Fighting Irish,” said Ryan Burns of GopherIllustrated.com. “They’ve been the consensus favorite here for many months.”
Burns believes Notre Dame’s football prestige and the Catholic focus of the school favors an ultimate commitment for the Irish. “It also doesn’t hurt that Notre Dame just had two offensive linemen go in the top nine picks of the NFL Draft, while Minnesota hasn’t had an offensive lineman drafted since 2006,” Burns said.
Carroll’s dad, Jay, was a tight end for the Gophers and named the team’s Outstanding Offensive Player in 1983. Burns estimates the younger Carroll has visited the Minnesota campus more than 10 times since Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck was hired in January of 2017. “It’s not every day you see a guy keep coming back to campus…and not end up choosing the University of Minnesota,” Burns said about so many unofficial visits.
Burns predicts the Gophers will finish as Carroll’s No. 2 choice. As of late the Gophers have been “bridesmaids” on high profile recruits including Council Bluffs, Iowa quarterback Max Duggan who chose TCU.