Four-star DL Boubacar Traore commits to Notre Dame football
Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class is rolling.
The Fighting Irish have landed their 11th commitment of the cycle, with West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial defensive lineman Boubacar Traore announcing his pledge.
“Their tradition — it’s the Fighting Irish,” Traore recently told Blue & Gold about his interest in Notre Dame. “And it’s a great school with an awesome business program. I want to major in business.”
Traore originally committed to Boston College over Michigan in August 2020. Those two schools and Notre Dame — which offered him last October — are the three programs that Traore has announced offers from. Traore decommitted from the Eagles March 12, and at that point Notre Dame was considered the heavy favorite to land his services.
Mike Elston was originally recruiting him at Notre Dame, but the defensive line coach left for Michigan in January. But the Irish’s recruitment of Traore didn’t miss a beat when Al Washington replaced Elston.
“He’s a great guy and awesome to talk to,” Traore added. “He’s always checking up on me. We talk like every other day. It’s a great relationship. I really like Notre Dame.”
Traore made his first visit to Notre Dame April 26-27.
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Traore doesn’t have a long offer sheet, but he does have an impressive ranking. According to the On3 Consensus — a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies — Traore is the No. 117 overall prospect and No. 15 defensive lineman in the country. He’s also the No. 3 player from the state of Massachusetts.
On3’s own rankings list Traore a tad higher as the No. 83 overall player and No. 11 defensive lineman nationally, plus the No. 3 recruit from his home state.
Traore helped lead Catholic Memorial to a 13-0 season in 2021 capped off by a Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 championship — the program’s first in 43 years. He made 40 stops and 10 sacks.
Notre Dame is up to three defensive line commitments in the 2023 class. Traore, who could play defensive tackle or strong side end for the Irish, joins five-star EDGE Keon Keeley of Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep and four-star defensive lineman Brenan Vernon of Mentor (Ohio) High.
Traore is Notre Dame’s second commitment from the state of Massachusetts in the cycle. Lawrence (Mass.) Central Catholic linebacker Preston Zinter pledged to the Irish back in February.
