Ahmad Gardner has been catching the attention of colleges all across the nation, and you can add Notre Dame and Northwestern to that list.
The unranked class of 2019 receiver told TalkingBaws.com exclusively that he has been talking with coaching personnel from Notre Dame for roughly one month now, and has been receiving mail from their recruiting office. He told me he has been speaking frequently with Aaryn Kearney, a recruiting operations coordinator for the Irish.
He says he likes their campus, how their practices operate, and thinks they have a good coaching staff. Gardner also said he appreciates their academics.
He remains confident in his relationship with the program, telling me, “Norte Dame will eventually [offer].”
In addition to the Irish, Gardner has also been talking with Northwestern for the past three weeks, although in his words, he “does not [have] that much of a good relationship with Northwestern,” he continued. “I don’t talk to them on the daily basis and I haven’t talked to them in like 4 days”
His main contact with the Wildcats’ coaching staff has been with receivers coach Dennis Springer. Although his relationship with the school hasn’t been as fluid as his others, he believes they will extend an offer to him at some point.
“Yeah they will [offer] but probably not that soon because I don’t really visit that much or go to their camps,” remarked Gardner.
Similarly to Notre Dame, the 6-foot, 155-pound Gardner likes their campus and coaching staff, something that would make Coach Fitzgerald smile.
While Notre Dame currently possesses the sixth overall 2018 recruiting class and Northwestern ranks steady at no. 16, per 247Sports.com, they are already working towards building up their 2019 classes. The Wildcats have already offered two 2019 receivers, David Bell of Warren Central HS (Indianapolis, IN), who is rated by 247Sports as the number one player in the state, and Kyren Williams of St. John Vianney (Saint Louis, MO).
Gardner currently only holds one offer from Toledo, but is also receiving interest from Central Michigan, Indiana State, Iowa State, Penn State, and Stanford.
He spoke further on the schools that are targeting him, saying “The only school I’m really close to out of the schools [on my Scout profile] is Kentucky and [defensive backs coach] Steven Clinkscale is the only coach I know there. I visited Michigan State about four times and I have a good relationship with [currently suspended Director of College Advancement] coach [Curtis] Blackwell and I fell off with the other schools.”
So what is Gardner looking forward to this summer and in the upcoming season?
“I’m looking forward to grabbing a lot of offers, showing out, getting ranked high in my position, getting a 4 or 5-star, and getting All-State,” said Gardner.
And where can schools expect to see him this summer?
“Central Michigan, Miami (OH), Penn State, and the Wayne State camp next week with most of the Division One Colleges will be coming to.”
Check out Gardner’s sophomore season highlights:
All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted, and all rankings are via 247Sports.com.
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