For those who follow recruiting there has been a lot of chatter on the rise of Prince Kollie, the linebacker from Tennessee who just signed his national letter of intent to join Notre Dame’s 2021 recruiting class.
Kollie was first given a scholarship offer by Clark Lea and Notre Dame when he was just a three-star recruit before he committed in the late summer and ultimately signed his letter of intent last week.
Now Kollie is being recognized as one of the very best in the nation as the future member of the Fighting Irish was named the high school Butkus Award Winner as the nation’s top linebacker.
I'm told #NotreDame linebacker signee Prince Kollie just found out he is the winner of the high school Butkus Award.
Quite the story for Kollie. When the Irish offered him a scholarship in May, he was a three-star recruit on 247Sports and Rivals.
Now he's a Butkus winner.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) December 21, 2020
Current Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah won the collegiate Butkus Award on Monday as well, making him the third Irish player to receive the honor.
Notre Dame might not be where some wish them to be yet in terms of bringing home a national championship but this news is further proof of just how far this program has come in recent years.
And shows further detail of how important it was to keep Kollie part of this recruiting class after Lea took the Vanderbilt head coaching job.