Five Notre Dame football commits slated to compete in Sunday’s Irish Invasion
The Notre Dame football program’s unpublicized high school prospect camp on Sunday will attract some prominent names to South Bend. Among them are five Fighting Irish 2025 class commits.
On Wednesday, wide receiver Elijah Burress, EDGEs Christopher Burgess Jr., Dominik Hulak, and defensive lineman Joseph Reiff all confirmed to Blue & Gold that they will attend Sunday’s Irish Invasion. Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer reported on May 20 that quarterback Deuce Knight is also slated to compete.
Last year, Notre Dame 2024 wide receiver commits Cam Williams and Micah Gilbert participated in the Irish Invasion. However, with five pledges slated to compete this year, it should be one of the best turnouts in years.
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Lucedale (Miss.) George County’s Knight will have the chance to throw passes to Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic’s Burress for the first time in a competitive setting. Knight, a four-star, is the No. 7 signal-caller in the class. Burress, a three-star, is the No. 79 wide receiver.
Sunday will also mark the first time Knight and Burress will work out with the Irish coaching staff at a camp.
Last year, Chicago Simeon’s Burgess participated in the program’s Irish Invasion camp. That is when the No. 100 overall player and No. 16 EDGE in class’ bond with defensive line coach Al Washington began to blossom.
“Anytime I would mess up on a drill or something, he would coach me immediately afterward,” Burgess told Blue & Gold on June 6. “So that made me feel like I was important.
“Coach Washington is really hands-on. He’ll work with you immediately. Right after a drill, he’ll work with you. A lot of coaches do that, but Coach Washington made me feel different.”
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IC Catholic Prep’s Hulak and York Community’s Reiff – both products of Elmhurst, Ill. – attended one of the program’s three evaluation camps last June.
The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Hulak, the No. 50 linebacker nationally and No. 14 prospect in Illinois, transitioned from linebacker to defensive line when he camped at Notre Dame on June 15. That put the three-star’s positional transformation to vyper in motion.
“I remember the first visit I had down at Notre Dame for one of their spring practices, I was in Coach Golden’s office, and we talked about how he sees me at linebacker and a standup D-line/D-end/linebacker,” Hulak told Blue & Gold on June 24. “So I was expecting it.
“We were maybe 15 minutes into linebacker drills, and he said, ‘Okay. I see you. You’re great at linebacker. You have the movement and the skill. I am going to take you down to the defensive line for pass rushing.’”
The 6-5, 250-pound Reiff, the No. 26 defensive lineman nationally and No. 7 prospect in Illinois, earned his Notre Dame scholarship offer after his performance in the June 20 camp. The four-star recruit eventually committed to Notre Dame on Sept. 24.
