Notre Dame football is making the rounds at Weddington High once again. This time, determined to produce a different outcome than the last time it tried to pull a prospect from the public school in Weddington, N.C.
It took time for the Irish to remove the sour taste left from Weddington High recruit Will Shipley’s Clemson commitment in the 2021 cycle. They prioritized the elite running back and invested plenty of time in his 13-month-long recruitment. Only to be outdone by the Tigers.
But Marcus Freeman was not at Notre Dame then. Or Chad Bowden , Al Golden or Max Bullough . The four key figures in On300 four-star linebacker Thomas Davis Jr.’s recruitment.
The Irish coaching staff offered the 6-foot-2, 210-pound thumper during their March 17 Pot of Gold Day recruiting event. In doing so, they plunged into a recruitment that already featured Auburn, LSU, Miami, Penn State, Southern California and Tennesse, among others.
Since then, Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Clemson have all become involved for the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 110 overall player and No. 9 linebacker in the 2026 class.
Of those Blue Blood schools, Notre Dame will become the only one that has hosted the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 9 player in North Carolina twice when he returns to campus Thursday. That’s a credit to the effort Notre Dame’s head coach, general manager, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach have made in Davis’ recruitment at this point in the process.
“He really likes the coaches,” said Weddington coach Andy Capone , who has been at the helm for six years and involved in Shipley’s recruitment. “(Davis) is a big relationship guy. He was mature beyond his years at an early age. He can relate to college coaches and adults really well. …
“(Davis) sees that they’re no BS and are honest with him. They are going to coach him hard like we do. That’s something that he likes. When I talked to him after his first visit, he said he loved the campus, the facilities and listening to Coach Freeman talk. Everybody just loved the vibe they got.”
Notre Dame coaches impress when stopping by Thomas Davis Jr.’s school
During Shipley’s recruitment, Capone connected multiple times with Irish head coach Brian Kelly , offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and running backs coach Lance Taylor . Those personalities hardly matter in Davis’ recruitment. Kelly is now the head coach at LSU, Rees is an assistant with the Browns and Taylor is the head coach at Western Michigan.
So, this time around, like Davis, Capone has been in touch with the new quartet of Irish staffers, mostly Golden and Bullough. Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach have both visited Weddington. After meeting both multiple times, Capone easily identified that this is a recruitment the Irish intend to win.
“In just getting to talk to Coach Golden and Coach Bullough, you can tell they’re very interested in TJ,” he said. “They have a plan for what they see from him.”
Last season, Davis dominated with 92 tackles, 13.5 for loss, 1 sack and 1 interception. Notre Dame believes he could make a similar impact in its defense.
Davis’ connections with Notre Dame go beyond the coaching staff. According to Capone, he has talked with a pair of Charlotte products — current Irish wide receiver Micah Gilbert and tight end Jack Larsen — to learn about their experience in South Bend.
“He reached out to talk about how their first semester was and what they think,” Capone said. “A big part of recruiting is players that are already there recruiting kids to come.”
The Irish also have an ace in the hole in Davis’ recruitment. He is the son of Thomas Davis Sr. , who played 16 years in the NFL and spent time with the Panthers, Chargers and Washington.
Meanwhile, NFL legacies such as Kennedy Urlacher ( Brian Urlacher ) and Bryce Young ( Bryant Young ) litter the Notre Dame roster. The sons of Jerome Bettis ( Jerome Bettis Jr. ) and Plaxico Burress ( Elijah Burress ) are also 2025 class commits.
Still, the Irish might not feel inclined to use their NFL legacy pitch in Davis Jr.’s recruitment. He has expressed an interest in paving his own path. So much so, that he prefers to go by “TJ” rather than Thomas Davis Jr. It is also not a foregone conclusion that he will end up at Georgia if it offers, even though his father was a consensus All-American for the Bulldogs.
For now, Davis has his attention geared toward Notre Dame ahead of Thursday’s return visit. But look for the Irish staff’s optimism to remain cautious. Because as the previous staff knows too well, it is not about how you start, but how you finish.
“I think that’s a good sign for Notre Dame,” Capone said. “But it’s still early in the process.”
The post Why Will Shipley’s Notre Dame recruitment no longer matters in program’s pursuit of Weddington LB Thomas Davis Jr. appeared first on On3 .
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