Notre Dame’s impressive linebacker recruiting continued Friday with a commitment from consensus four-star Preston Zinter, the sixth such linebacker commit for the Irish in the last two recruiting cycles. Zinter (Central Catholic High School; Lawrence, Mass.) visited South Bend just two weeks ago, cementing a recruitment that has trended Notre Dame’s way since Marcus Freeman extended Zinter a scholarship offer last summer.
Zinter also held scholarship offers from Michigan, Ohio State and Georgia, among many others. Rivals.com ranks him the No. 11 outside linebacker in the class of 2023 and the No. 214 recruit overall.
At 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, Zinter displays more speed than may be expected from a linebacker/tight end. That applies to both his top-end speed and his initial acceleration. By no means is Zinter a blazer, but he has more speed than expected.
He also shows an ability to get upfield on a pass rush, and Zinter stays after the ball carrier, even if the play goes to the other side of the field, a knack helped by his ability to shed blocks from receivers with ease.
In 2021, Zinter had 69 tackles with nine for loss, including three sacks, along with 39 catches for 569 yards and three touchdowns as a tight end.
He is the second linebacker in Notre Dame’s class of 2023, joining consensus four-star Drayk Bowen (Andrean H.S.; Merrillville, Ind.), and the ninth overall commitment in a class that currently ranks No. 1 in rivals.com’s team rankings, though it needs to be acknowledged it is still too early in the cycle to put much stock in that ranking.
All nine commitments to date are consensus four-star prospects.
I’m COMMITTING to… pic.twitter.com/gfNoh14exU
— Preston Zinter (@Preston_Zinter) February 11, 2022
