2023 Notre Dame ATH target Preston Zinter locks in commitment date
Lawrence (Mass.) Central Catholic class of 2023 athlete and Notre Dame target Preston Zinter will announce his commitment this Friday at noon ET on CBS Sports HQ, he posted on Twitter Monday evening.
Zinter hasn’t announced a group of top schools but holds offers from the likes of Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and Wisconsin.
Notre Dame is the team to beat according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine for Zinter at 93.7%. A big part of the percentage being so strongly in favor of Notre Dame is him taking four visits to South Bend (tied for most along with local Boston College) and two insider predictions placed in favor of the Irish.
Zinter’s last college visit was to Notre Dame at the end of January.
“It was an awesome visit,” Zinter told BlueandGold.com. “The highlight for me was really just having the opportunity to spend more time with the coaches, recruits and the guys already committed like Drayk Bowen and Brenan Vernon.”
A key moment of the visit was a film room meeting with Notre Dame defensive analyst Nick Lezynski, where the Irish staffer broke down Zinter’s and Bowen’s film.
“He showed me where I would fit into their defense,” Zinter added. “They said they really like my athleticism and can see me playing any of the three linebacker positions.”
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According to the On3 Consensus, Zinter ranks as the nation’s No. 433 player and No. 26 tight end. He’s also the No. 4 player from his home state of Massachusetts. On3’s own rankings list Zinter as a three-star prospect with an 86 grade.
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While On3 lists him as a tight end, Notre Dame is primarily recruiting him as a linebacker. At 6-2, 205 pounds, Notre Dame could see him projecting at rover or inside linebacker. We’re also not ruling out him playing on offense as an H-back, either. Sources on the Irish side of things feel that Zinter is an excellent football player who could excel at a number of positions.
He was named to the Massachusetts Division I all-state first-team defense for his performance this past fall.
Zinter tallied 62 tackles (9.0 for loss) on his way to being named the 2021 Merrimack Valley Defensive Player of the Year and to the Super 26 all-state team.
Notre Dame has eight commitments thus far in its 2023 recruiting class, which ranks No. 2 in the land per the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Ranking.
If Zinter does commit to the Irish, he would give the Irish their second linebacker commit of the class, joining the aforementioned Drayk Bowen from Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean, the No. 47 overall prospect and No. 4 linebacker in the 2023 cycle.
