Why relationships drew 2023 kicker Marcello Diomede to Notre Dame: ‘I fell in love with the place’
Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West kicker Marcello Diomede got hot at the right time. It resulted in a preferred walk-on offer to play football at Notre Dame.
Diomede, who is a member of the 2023 class, is a product of the famed Chris Sailer Kicking Camps, the premier instructional special teams camps in the country. Kickers and punters attend to get noticed, and Diomede followed that path before taking the most important step: attending sessions on college campuses.
In addition to camping at Notre Dame, Diomede’s Twitter feed shows he participated in numerous other Power Five camps in recent months, including Wisconsin, Tennessee, Indiana and Minnesota. He also held a scholarship offer to play at Air Force.
While a camp visit earned him the offer to play for the Irish, it was a campus visit to South Bend this spring that swayed Diomede.
“I’ve always known that Notre Dame was a really prestigious school and an amazing place to play football,” he told BlueandGold.com. “But when I visited for the spring game, I fell in love with the place because of the fan base.
“And it was when all of the alumni were there. It was great to hear them talk about their days at Notre Dame. I really wanted to be a part of that.”
Diomede didn’t cite any particular alumni that were on campus for the April 23 event, instead saying it was great to hop around and talk with several people about their college careers and their excitement for new head coach Marcus Freeman.
The 6-2, 180-pound rising senior committed to the Irish on June 22, less than a week after receiving the offer to walk on from Freeman and special teams coordinator Brian Mason.
“Coach Mason and I have a very open line of communication, and we’re growing our relationship every day,” Diomede said. “I can always reach out to him and Coach Freeman. I know I can trust them with anything.”
More Notre Dame football recruiting:
On3 five-star offensive tackle Charles Jagusah commits to Notre Dame football
2024 four-star WR Cam Williams commits to Notre Dame football over Michigan
According to Sailer’s rankings, Diomede is the No. 11 kicker in the 2023 class and a five-star prospect.
“He is a great looking athlete with one of the strongest legs in America,” Sailer said, per his website. “Marcello does a fantastic job on field goals. He gets the ball up well off the ground and easily has 55+ yard range.”
The specialist will continue to perfect his craft this summer when he attends one final Sailer camp: the invite-only TOP 12 kickers camp in Los Angeles, which will take place from July 12-14. Approximately 40 kickers will attend, and Sailer will ultimately choose his top 12.
In addition to the West Coast travel, Diomede has summer camp every weekday for the next couple of months. His goal heading into the fall is to win a state title at his suburban Chicago school.
“We can do it,” Diomede said. “We’ve got a lot of great players around, so it’ll be an exciting season.”
Freeman and Mason will certainly be watching.
