Notre Dame and Justyn Rhett made quite the impression on each other on a visit to South Bend.
Rhett, a 2023 four-star cornerback, took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame Saturday with several of his teammates from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High School. He left with an offer after impressing at Irish Invasion camp Sunday.
He also left thinking Notre Dame is a top choice for him in the early stages of his recruitment.
“Everything starts with Notre Dame for me right now,” Rhett said. “We’ll definitely be back there.”
Rhett (6-0, 189) earned the offer from Notre Dame defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman as camp wrapped up. It came on the heels of his impressive testing numbers.
“We did the shuttle, I ran a 4.0-flat,” Rhett said. “We did the 40, I ran a 4.4. We had a broad jump, and I jumped 10’6”. Then we did one-on-ones.”
He was then told to go find Freeman, presumably to hear some good news.
“I talked to coach Freeman after the one-on-ones concluded,” Rhett said. “[Cornerbacks] coach [Mike] Mickens had told me coach Freeman was looking for me and an offer was waiting for me and my dad to talk to him. We started talking and he gave me the line. ‘I want you to know you have an offer from Notre Dame.’ That was definitely exciting.”
Rhett spent the prior day touring the campus, seeing the football facilities, learning about the academic opportunities, trying on a uniform for a photoshoot and meeting with the coaches.
“It felt like I already know them,” Rhett said. “I made great connections with them. It was all good. [Safeties] coach [Chris] O’Leary, coach Freeman, coach Mickens, he’s great.”
His tour guide was former Notre Dame defensive back Nico Fertitta, who is the secondary coach at Bishop Gorman. Fertitta flew in with Rhett and a few other Bishop Gorman prospects to show them campus and take them to the camp. Notre Dame had come up as a prior topic of conversation between Fertitta and Rhett, which helped establish some familiarity for Rhett heading into the visit.
“I’m always talking to Nico,” Rhett said. “I’ve only heard great things from Notre Dame. It’s crazy I got to actually see it.”
Notre Dame was Rhett’s first visit since the dead period expired June 1. He holds offers from Michigan, Oregon, USC, Tennessee, Georgia, Arizona, Florida State, Arizona State, West Virginia UNLV, Utah State and North Texas.
Rhett won DB MVP honors in May at the Rivals Camp Series’ stop in Los Angeles.
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