Notre Dame recruited preferred walk-on Luke Talich a bit differently than most preferred walk-ons are recruited. The Wyoming product chose to walk-on for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish instead of take a scholarship offer from a variety of Division I programs.
On Thursday it was announced that his belief in himself paid off in becoming an official scholarship player for the Fighting Irish.
He’s earned that right,” Freeman said of Talich. “He’ll be in the competition with [fellow sophomore safety] Adon (Shuler) and everybody that’s there. It’s good. Those two guys make each other better.”
It’s safe to assume returning All-American safety Xavier Watts will be one starting safety in 2024 but the other spot is up for grabs. Talich is included in that as is Northwestern graduate-transfer Rob Heard and Shuler.
Talich played in eight games as a freshman, primarily on special teams. His season ended prematurely with a broken collar bone, but he was a full-go in Thursday’s practice to kickoff the spring season.