Stockton Thrilled With Latest Offer

Last year Notre Dame fans were less then thrilled when nose tackle Omar Hunter decided to switch his verbal pledge to Florida, however they did land another very solid nose tackle in Brandon Newman. This year Tyler Stockton is another target at the position for the Fighting Irish and while he may not be ranked as highly as Hunter, he does bring some very good pass rush skills into the equation.

Tyler Stockton has seen his recruitment go into a whirlwind lately, picking up offers on a daily basis from some of the top programs in the country. On Friday he grabbed another offer from a school that has “everything he’s looking for” in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the 6-foot-1, 280-pound defensive tackle from The Hun School in Princeton, N.J., seemed ecstatic when we spoke with him.

“I’m excited about this offer, really excited,” Stockton exclaimed. “I spoke with Head Coach Charlie Weis today and he asked me if I would be interested in going to Notre Dame because he had my offer in front of him ready to sign. I told him that I absolutely had interest in the Irish and he told me he was signing it as we spoke, so I was thrilled. I like Coach Weis a lot and really get a good vibe from everyone on that staff as I’ve camped there two years in a row now.”

“I also spoke with defensive line coach (Jappy) Oliver and he was very excited that they offered me,” Stockton added. “Like I said, I’ve camped there two years in a row, so we have a good connection and have grown pretty close over the years. He just said he was excited for me and congratulated me on the offer.”

“The other coach I have spoken to quite a bit is Coach (Corwin) Brown. I get a great vibe from him because he’s an exciting guy. One thing that really sticks out to me about Coach Brown is that he is always asking me how my parents are, my life is and how my studies are going. It’s not all about football with him and I would describe him as a very caring individual.”

Stockton went on to talk about what he liked about South Bend.

“I like everything about Notre Dame,” Stockton explained. “I know the program struggled last year, but they have been bringing in awesome recruits and their future looks very bright. It’s hard to find a better school then Notre Dame academically and when you combine those academics with the tradition of winning they have in football it’s just tough to even find someone on their level.”

“When I am on campus there I am very comfortable and this summer I knew I’d have to start looking at each school like I might go there,” Stockton said. “I was really blown away by everything there like the Golden Dome, locker rooms and the stadium and could definitely see myself going there.”

The Princeton, N.J., native is still completely open in his recruiting and does not have any favorites at this point, but did talk about when he’ll start to narrow his list and where the Irish may stand when that happens.

“I am going to start narrowing my list in the summer,” Stockton stated. “Notre Dame is definitely up near the top of that list. I’m looking for good academics and a program that is rich in tradition which Notre Dame definitely has both of. I also know that even if I don’t make it to the NFL I would have great job opportunities with a degree from there.”

Stockton registered 73 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three batted passes and a blocked kick as a junior. He was named the 2007 Mid-Atlantic Defensive Player of the Year. He was named first-team All Mid-Atlantic Prep at defensive tackle for his sophomore and junior years, first-team All-State Prep at defensive tackle both years by the Star Ledger and first-team All-Area for both years by the Trenton Times and Princeton Packet.

He currently holds 12 offers from Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Villanova, Penn State, Tennessee, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Northwestern, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and UCLA.