Notre Dame Offer "Hard To Put Into Words" For North Carolina Star Gus Ritchey
It has been an incredibly busy few days for Notre Dame football, kicking off spring practice this week. Littered among that excitement, the Irish staff continues to identify and target top talents in the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.
On Wednesday, the team extended an offer to 2025 Pittsboro (N.C.) Northwood athlete Gus Ritchey, who is one of the more versatile athletes in the class. Notre Dame likes him on the defensive side of the football on the edge. Regardless of his position long term, this offer meant a lot to Ritchey, who knows what the Notre Dame program represents.
“It's hard to put my thoughts into words,” Ritchey said. “It meant a whole lot though. I was extremely excited to get the offer.
“What stands out is that you get the best of both worlds at Notre Dame,” he continued. “You get a first class education and get to compete for a national championship.”
The 6-3, 230-pound athlete has already garnered the attention of several big time programs. Some of his notable offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Texas A&M, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Ole Miss, North Carolina, NC State, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Duke among others.
With Ritchey already attracting the attention of several top programs, things have quickly gotten busy. He is already busy developing relationships and exploring his options. It is a blessing for the North Carolina standout.
“Recruiting has been great!” Ritchey explained. “I feel really lucky to be in this position. I'm constantly working but I love it. I'm visiting NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Duke so far.”
While he is a long way off making a decision, Ritchey has already laid out clear criteria for making a decision. It will come down to a feeling.
“It just has to feel right,” he said. “It has to feel like home to you. I'm starting to build really strong relationships and that will play a huge role. But the entire culture needs to fit.”
Ritchey is already well liked from a recruiting ranking perspective. He is currently pegged as a four-star recruit by Rivals, the only site who has evaluated him thus far. They have him ranked as the No. 102 overall player and No. 8 strongside defensive end in the 2025 recruiting class.
As a sophomore, Ritchey put together a dynamic season on both sides of the football. As the team’s starting tight end, he hauled in 32 receptions for 490 yards and five touchdowns. He would also rush for a touchdown on the ground.
On defense, he collected 61 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and ten sacks. Ritchey also forced two fumbles as well.
Although a lot of Ritchey’s interest has come on the defensive side of the football, there are several teams that also like him at tight end on the next level. There are even some programs that are pursuing him as an athlete to leave those options open.
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