Wisconsin Two-Way Standout 'Super Excited' For Notre Dame Offer
It wasn’t until after his sophomore football season this past year that Fond Du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary’s Springs offensive lineman Billy Schrauth received his first Division I offer.
Western Michigan gave him the good news back in mid-January, and the offers began rolling in after that. He would end January with offers from Wisconsin, Iowa and Central Michigan, and now as we are almost into July several other high major programs have entered the mix.
Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee, Northwestern, Arizona State and of course, Notre Dame have since extended offers to the 6-5, 280-pound four-star product, and he is just trying to enjoy the process.
“It has been fun and exciting,” Schrauth told Irish Breakdown. “I got my first offer a week after my state championship this past season. After that, offers just started to pour in.”
“I’ve been in contact with a lot of schools since,” he added. “On top of my offers, a few schools down south are a few of the programs I’ve been hearing from. I am trying to build relationships with some SEC coaches down there.”
Notre Dame would join the mix on April 17th after offensive line coach Jeff Quinn jumped on a call with Schrauth, but that wasn’t his first interaction with the Notre Dame coaching staff. The Wisconsin native enjoyed a game day visit to campus back in November when the Irish hosted Boston College.
“That was one of the three schools I was able to visit before the season ended, the other two being Michigan and Iowa,” he said. “It was great. I had a great time down there. I was able to meet some of the coaches.
“In April, Coach Quinn got me, my dad and my step-mom on the phone, and told us he liked the way I played and that I would be a good fit for the program,” he continued. “We were all just super excited.”
As a force on both sides of the ball for St.Mary’s, Schrauth has been recruited by schools to play along both the offensive and defensive line, and he is open to playing either in college. In fact, 247Sports ranks him as the nation's No. 143 overall player and fifth best defensive tackle in the country.
However, Schrauth thinks that offensive line, and offensive guard specifically, will be his eventual landing spot.
“I think it is going to be offensive line, but I just like playing ball,” he said of his future position. “I would be happy to play wherever though. I’m still going to build a relationship with the defensive coaches too, but as of right now, I think I will be sticking at offensive line.”
“We’ve been looking at some film, and Coach Quinn has been pointing out the guard play,” Schrauth continued. “Just the way they move, he thinks my play will transition well to the inside. I think I’m going to play guard.”
With everything going on in the world right now during the Covid-19 pandemic, many athletes have had a difficult time getting into a gym and really improving their bodies and working on their craft. That isn’t the case for Schrauth. He was fortunate enough to have access to a gym through its entirety, and he is thankful for that.
“One of my close buddies, his brother owns a gym, and I have had access to that the whole quarantine.” he mentioned. “He pretty much has everything … squat racks, indoor turf, everything I needed. I’ve been able to put on a lot of weight. It is kind of selfish to say, but this was sort of the best thing that could have happened to me. I was able to spend most of my time in the weight room. I’m up to 280 bounds, and just trying to get big.”
While the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for the four-star lineman, he is also anxious for it all to end and wants to visit more campuses and get back to Notre Dame. Schrauth would like to come out with a top group here soon, and you can expect that academics and a winning culture will be at the forefront of his decision making process.
“I’m excited to get back out on some visits, and Notre Dame is definitely one of those places I’m going to be at,” said Schrauth. “Academics are important for me, because I need to be able to do something after football. I come from a winning program here at St. Mary’s, and I want to win a national championship wherever I go, so that is going to be a big thing as well. It doesn’t make sense to work so hard and not be a winner. Wherever I go, I want to be able to win a national championship.
“I don’t have a commitment timeline yet, but I do plan on getting something out soon. Maybe a top 8.”
The Notre Dame coaching staff has already handed out several offers to offensive lineman in the class of 2022, and it should be a major focus for the offensive staff in the cycle. Schrauth figures to be a priority target for the Irish moving forward, and the interest early on is being reciprocated.
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