Brett Nagel, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound linebacker from Lemont Township (Ill.) is the younger brother of '07 Notre Dame signee Aaron Nagel. Brett already has six scholarship offers and plans to do what his older brother did. No, not commit to Notre Dame, but commit early.
"He committed really early," the younger Nagel said. "The day they offered him he committed. He did tell me to at least take a look around and check everyone out, but I'd like to commit before the end of May."
That's why Nagel plans to take several unofficial visits in April, although the only one he has set up thus far is Stanford on April 14. "Stanford has the academics that I'm looking for," Nagel said. "They have good academics and athletics and I excel in the classroom too, so that's important to me."
Nagel says he has offers from Stanford, Colorado, Kansas State, Northwestern, Purdue and Vanderbilt. The Irish are recruiting him, but haven't offered. "I don't know where I am on their radar," Nagel said.
Last year, Brett visited Northwestern and Purdue with his brother and enjoyed both schools. "Northwestern is only about 45 minutes from my house, which is nice," Nagel said. "I think my mom would want me to stay close, but it's not an issue for me. I like that they play in the Big Ten because it's a good conference and they play all the top teams."
In fact, Brett already has a relationship with the Northwestern coaches, because his recruiting coach (Wildcats linebacker coach Randy Bates) also recruited his brother. "Coach Bates is a great guy," he said. "I also really like their tight end coach, Adam Cushing. They text me a lot and I feel like I've know them for a while.
"I also really liked the Purdue campus," he said. "It's awesome. Everything is state-of-the-art and the football stuff is all close together, not spread out. I went to their game against Notre Dame last year and it was great. The fans were really into and supporting the team. It was a lot of fun."
Nagel played free safety and quarterback during his junior year and finished the season with 13 touchdowns rushing, nine passing and four interceptions on defense.
"I'm smart and well coached," Nagel said. "I'm really versatile and athletic. I play very hard-nosed, plus I'm the perfect size for a linebacker and have a good frame to add weight to. Last year I played at 200 pounds and now I'm at 225. My goal is to add another 10 pounds and be at 235. I'm also working on getting faster so that I'll be able to fly around the field and get more tackles. Right now I run about a 4.65 forty."
Despite the fact that Nagel denies a favorite, he's confident he'll be able to narrow things down quickly and make a decision before the summer. "Committing early worked well for my brother," he said. "It took away a lot of the distractions he'd have. I really want to focus on spring ball and two-a-days and my senior season. We have a good shot to win state this year and that's my main goal."
He reports a 4.2 core GPA (4.0 scale, with AP and honors classes) and a 32 ACT.