After visiting Notre Dame this weekend, Donovan Jeter came home and decided he’d like to spend more time in South Bend, Ind. Like, his entire college career.
Jeter, a heavily-recruited senior defensive end at Beaver Falls High School, announced on Twitter today that he has made a verbal commitment to Notre Dame.
Jeter (6 feet 5, 250 pounds) is the fourth player from the WPIAL class of 2017 to commit to Notre Dame. The others are Central Catholic linebacker David Adams, Central Catholic defensive lineman Kurt Hinish and North Allegheny offensive lineman Josh Lugg. Also, Notre Dame also has a commitment from a WPIAL class of 2018 player – Pine-Richland junior quarterback Phil Jurkovec.
Jeter’s Notre Dame choice could be considered a little surprising because when Jeter announced his final five colleges in July, Notre Dame wasn’t on the list. It was Pitt, Penn State, Ohio State, Alabama and Tennessee. But in August, Jeter said Notre Dame was back on his final list along with Michigan.
Jeter said Notre Dame, Pitt and Michigan were his final three choices, and Jeter visited Notre Dame for the Fighting Irish’s game Saturday night against Michigan State. After that, he felt he didn’t need to go on any other visits.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Jeter said of the Notre Dame game atmosphere. “I’ve been to Pitt, West Virginia, Ohio State. Even though [Notre Dame] lost, the atmosphere was great. I was just amazed with the visit.”
Jeter said that at one time, Pitt was his top choice.
“But it changed, like, every other month,” said Jeter, whose brother, Sheldon, is a Pitt basketball player.
Jeter actually credited Central Catholic’s Hinish for getting Jeter to re-consider Notre Dame. The two were at Kennywood in August as part of being selected to an MSA Sports all-star team. Hinish committed to Notre Dame in the spring.
“He was on my case and just kept saying, ‘Dude, come to Notre Dame,’” Jeter said. “It was like every five minutes.”
Jeter laughs when telling the story about Hinish.
“He would not leave me alone about it and then I finally told him I might put them back in,” said Jeter. “Then after I put [Notre Dame] back in, they started really coming on hard, texting me all the time and contacting me.”
Then came the visit, and then came the decision. Jeter spoke with Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly this morning.
Jeter also plays offensive guard at Beaver Falls and he excels at basketball, helping Beaver Falls win the WPIAL Class AAA basketball championship last season. A few years ago, Jeter thought his future was in basketball, but he warmed to football as major colleges started recruiting him.
Jeter will not play basketball this season for Beaver Falls. Instead, he plans to graduate early and enroll at Notre Dame for the spring semester.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh