Talented Athlete Paul Mencke Jr. Quickly Sets Up Notre Dame Visit After Offer
There is a ton of pressure on the Notre Dame staff to sign a tremendous safety class in the 2024 recruiting class. With an already talented board in place, the talent level grew even larger on Thursday where an offer was extended to Schertz (Texas) Samuel Clemens safety Paul Mencke Jr., who is yet another toolsy defensive back from Texas.
An incredibly academically driven student athlete, this recent offer from the Irish program meant a lot to Mencke. The Texas native gave the Irish Breakdown staff some insight into that recent offer.
“My initial thoughts were, 'Wow this is amazing,' because it’s been so quiet recruiting wise for me and this offer is the first one from a known football school,” Mencke explained. “Notre Dame, like Duke and University of Pennsylvania, can set you up for the rest of your life even if you don’t make it to the NFL you have a great back up plan.”
Even with an impressive combination of physical tools, things have been surprisingly quiet thus far for Mencke. Things are, however, heating up over the last several weeks. It promises to keep moving in that direction.
“Recruiting has been really quiet, but from the people that have offered they keep in touch a lot so that makes me feel appreciated and wanted,” he said. “I plan on going to Rice on April 7th and Notre Dame from the 14th to 15th right now.”
Getting up to South Bend is going to be huge for the Notre Dame staff. It is also going to be quite an opportunity for Mencke, who had quite an interesting remark about the campus.
“If Duke looks like Hogwarts, I wonder what Notre Dame looks like,” he added. “Notre Dame must be medieval or something. Shoot, I can’t wait to get up there.”
There is obvious intrigue from both sides. That visit will be interesting to follow and clearly Mencke has high expectations for it. He is a thoughtful young man who has clear criteria and a timeline to make a decision.
“Things I look for in a school are the campus, student life, academics and internships they can offer for students and benefits,” Mencke explained.
“I’d say I’ll make my decision by the end of summer,” the Texas standout continued. “I really want to experience the whole recruiting process even if I already have a school chosen.”
Mencke is considered a near consensus three-star recruit. The exception is On3, who has him pegged as a four-star recruit. On that ranking, he currently sits as the No. 179 overall player and No. 19 safety in the 2024 recruiting class. He is also ranked as the No. 38 player in Texas, a state that Notre Dame has made a priority since Marcus Freeman took over.
Although Mencke described his recruiting process as “quiet” thus far, the Texas standout has still managed to generate more and more interest over the last couple of months. Some of his notable offers thus far include the Fighting Irish, Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington State, Iowa State, Arizona State, Duke and Kansas among others.
As a junior, Mencke was a playmaker for Samuel Clemens. He collected 67 total tackles and three interceptions for the squad despite missing one game. The 6-2, 180-pound athlete also was a prominent performer at wide receiver.
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