Ohio safety announces commitment date, Notre Dame listed in final schools
Cincinnati Lakota West class of 2023 safety Ben Minich announced his commitment date and list of finalists on Wednesday afternoon.
This Friday at 6 p.m. ET on the 247 Sports YouTube page , Minich will choose between Cincinnati, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Stanford.
Minich took three official visits in June: Cincinnati, Duke and Wake Forest. The latter two schools didn’t make his final cut. The 5-11.5, 185-pounder took a couple trips to Notre Dame over the summer. Kentucky, Oklahoma and Stanford offered Minich in June.
Minich ranks as the No. 529 overall player and No. 50 safety per the 2023 On3 Consensus, plus the No. 15 prospect from his home state of Ohio.
On3’s own rankings list Minich as the No. 33 safety nationally and No. 13 prospect in Ohio.
The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) lists Notre Dame has the favorite heading into his decision date at 91.8 percent.
Minich on his Notre Dame offer
He spoke with Blue & Gold’s Ashton Pollard following the good news he received July 20 from the Irish staff, which didn’t come as a surprise to Minich. Notre Dame was clear with him about where things stood on their safety board.
“I came down in June, and then we kept in contact,” Minich said. “So it wasn’t a surprise, but it was definitely a really good feeling to make it official and be able to post it on social media.”
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“I got there a little early and went on a tour of the facilities and campus,” Minich said about his visit in June. “I camped and did really well, then I met with Coach (Marcus) Freeman, Coach (Chris) O’Leary and Coach Golden after. I really liked the people there. It was just a great visit.”
In addition to being a standout defensive back at one of Ohio’s best football schools, Minich is also a track star. He broke the Lakota West school record in the 100-meter dash earlier this year with a time of 10.77 seconds. According to his Twitter, he lowered that mark to 10.47 seconds a week later en route to becoming a district champion. The Irish could certainly use a speedster in the secondary.
Good week on the horizon for the Irish?
The Irish are considered the team to beat for Minich, Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab linebacker Jaiden Ausberry and Derby (Kan.) High running back Dylan Edwards according to the RPM.
Ausberry is set to announce his commitment on Thursday evening and Edwards told On3 Tuesday that he’ll make his decision known Saturday. And sandwiched between those commitment dates is Minich on Friday.
It could be a nice few days for Notre Dame if they’re able go three-for-three.
