Tommy Rees shares what made Steve Angeli strong fit for Notre Dame

Notre Dame signed 21 recruits on Wednesday as part of Early Signing Day, and included in the class is New Jersey quarterback Steve Angeli. 

Angeli is a four-star recruit and ranked the No. 22 quarterback in his class according to the On3 Consensus Rankings, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Additionally, Angeli attends Bergen Catholic High School, an all-boys school known for producing star athletes. 

While Angeli has what it takes on the field to be a quarterback at one of the nation’s most visible schools, there were other things about the quarterback that impressed Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees throughout his recruitment.

“When we recruited Steve I think the first thing that jumped out was the intangibles,” Rees said last week. “When you sit down and have a conversation with the kid you say this is exactly what you want in somebody that’s going to represent this program from the very top. Then as you dive through the various outlets of film that are being exposed to you, you start to see a guy that can make all the throws, that has enough athleticism to get outside of the pocket.”

Angeli committed to Notre Dame during the recruiting dead period, so he did not have a normal recruitment and commitment. Like many others, Rees, the Notre Dame staff and Angeli had to turn to unconventional methods of recruitment during the pandemic. Angeli had numerous Power Five offers, including from Ohio State, Michigan and Oregon, among others. The 6-foot-2 commit committed in March and made his official visit in June once programs were allowed to host recruits on campus again. He will enroll early at Notre Dame, so he will be there in around a month, according to Rees.

“You go through that, you get him committed, you evaluate him his senior year and you see all of that come to fruition,” Rees added of his new quarterback. “You see him win a state championship, and you see all those intangible things that you believed in come to reality.”

The New Jersey native won the New Jersey Non-Public A state championship in late November after a perfect 12-0 season and a win over another New Jersey powerhouse football school, Don Bosco Prep.

Angeli will join quarterbacks Tyler Buchner, Drew Pyne and Ron Powlus III in South Bend. Buchner is currently a true freshman and was also an early enrollee last season. The former No. 8 player in California in his class is the frontrunner to start for the Irish in 2022.

Before turning all attention to 2022, Notre Dame faces Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1. The Irish are looking for the their first major bowl win since 1993.