Kennedy Urlacher鈥檚 Notre Dame commitment 鈥榓 great decision鈥�
CHANDLER, Ariz. (BVM) 鈥� Kennedy Urlacher may be the son of a Hall of Fame linebacker, but he鈥檚 no stranger to hard work and competition.
鈥淲hen he transferred as a sophomore from Casteel, he was a backup and then he was on special teams and he was special teams player of the year,鈥� Chandler High School head football coach Rick Garretson said of Urlacher. 鈥淭hose right there are traits telling you that he鈥檚 not afraid to work, he鈥檚 not afraid to be a team player and when he gets his opportunity, he makes things happen.鈥�
Those traits that Garretson sees in Urlacher have resulted in rapid improvement.
The has put on about 10 pounds of muscle since his junior season ended and as recently as Oct. 1, Urlacher had just four college football offers to his name (New Mexico, Arizona, Northern Arizona, Iowa).
A strong junior campaign led to a handful of Power 5 offers from the likes of Nebraska, Kansas, Stanford, Washington, Wisconsin and others. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound safety narrowed his list down to six schools (Notre Dame, TCU, Miami, Penn State, Kansas State and Illinois) in late April and on May 1, Urlacher committed to the Fighting Irish and head coach Marcus Freeman.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the best of both worlds, whether it鈥檚 education or football,鈥� Urlacher said of his decision to commit to Notre Dame. 鈥淵ou get both things over there so it鈥檚 a great decision.鈥�
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— Kennedy Urlacher (@k_urlacher11)
Urlacher helps make up Notre Dame鈥檚 for 2024 which is behind only Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia. He joins a trio of four-star wide receivers in Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert and Isiah Canion as well as four-star quarterback CJ Carr in the Fighting Irish鈥檚 highly-touted group.
鈥淭alking to Coach (Chad) Bowden, he said this is probably the best class that they鈥檝e had since he鈥檚 been there which is great to hear so hopefully we just keep adding on to that,鈥� Urlacher said.
Of course, Urlacher鈥檚 commitment to Notre Dame means he will begin his college football career less than 100 miles from where his father became a Pro Football Hall of Famer.聽聽
Brian Urlacher is one of the most decorated defenders in NFL history with a Defensive Player of the Year (2005), eight Pro Bowl selections and an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2018) to his name. The legendary linebacker spent his entire 13-year NFL career with the Chicago Bears as one of the sport鈥檚 most feared hitters, and now his son is gaining a similar reputation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 his physicality,鈥� Garretson said of Kennedy in October. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just a physical player and he鈥檚 got really good football IQ.
Another Urlacher?
Brian's son Kennedy is a Class of 2024 safety prospect and he was bringing the lumber like his pops over the weekend 馃憞 | | | 馃帴:
— Rivals (@Rivals)
鈥淗e鈥檚 made some unbelievable hits. I mean, like, jeez, I don鈥檛 know how the other kids got up.鈥�
Kennedy will have the opportunity to make even more highlight plays during his senior campaign thanks in part to a scheme change. The Wolves plan to adopt a new 3-3 defense in which Kennedy will be featured in a 鈥淔alcon鈥� safety role.
鈥淗e鈥檒l definitely be a run support guy as well as a pass defender and it really kind of works right into his wheelhouse; we鈥檝e seen that the short time we鈥檝e been in spring football,鈥� Garretson said of Kennedy鈥檚 new role. 鈥淭hat position is the No. 1 position on that defense. That鈥檚 the primetime spot that we call 鈥楩alcon,鈥� so really looking forward to seeing how he develops there.鈥�
鈥淭hat position definitely fits me well,鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to do that.鈥�
Another factor working in favor of Kennedy is Chandler鈥檚 history of sending its athletes to the NFL.
Over the last decade, the Wolves have had the (8) of any high school in the country (prior to the 2023 NFL Draft). Only perennial powerhouses such as St. Thomas Aquinas (FL), IMG Academy (FL), American Heritage (FL) and Serra (CA) have had more draft picks in that span.
With a high football IQ, incredible instincts and a knack for making plays, there鈥檚 no doubt in Garretson鈥檚 mind that Kennedy could one day be added to that list.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 any question,鈥� Garretson said.
The future is bright for not only Kennedy but Notre Dame as well. After becoming the first head coach in program history to start his career with three losses, Freeman led the Fighting Irish to wins in six of the team鈥檚 final seven games (including a bowl victory over No. 19 South Carolina). A star-studded 2024 class could very well be the catalyst for a new era of Notre Dame football.
While Kennedy might have had to wait his turn a bit for the spotlight at Chandler, the plan is for him to see the field early and often in South Bend, Indiana.
鈥淗opefully I play early,鈥� Kennedy said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 my goal, to get on the field and don鈥檛 come off.鈥�
