Four-Star Linebacker Pete Werner Talks Notre Dame Pledge, What’s Next
INDIANAPOLIS — Pete Werner didn’t need Notre Dame defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder to draw up plays on a white board to see if he would be a fit at Notre Dame. He also didn’t need VanGorder or linebackers coach Mike Elston to compare him to some other recruit that once found success in South Bend to see where he would project.
No, the Indianapolis Cathedral four-star linebacker says he didn’t need the theatrics. Instead, all Werner needed to do was step foot on campus to know that Notre Dame was going to be the place for him. Werner said Tuesday during a college showcase event that once he arrived at Notre Dame on March 21 for a Junior Day the decision to commit to the Irish became pretty simple.
“I had down to probably five schools, but I knew going into the Notre Dame visit that it was going to be big. I was looking for big things and I saw them,” Werner told Blue & Gold Illustrated. “The coaches were great, and the football and academic reputation is great. All the things I was looking for in a school Notre Dame has.”
Werner picked the Irish over his other five finalists: Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State and Northwestern. He said that almost every school that was recruiting him as a linebacker, but Notre Dame never really clarified where they want to play the 6-2, 215-pound Werner, and according to him that’s perfectly fine.
“To be honest, I really don’t know where they want me at,” Werner said. “They just said that they think I can be a great player and that I have tons of potential. They said they see me as an outside linebacker, but things could obviously change. I’m going in there with an open mind.
“I have a ton of confidence in the staff,” he added. “I know that they want the best for me.”
While it might sound confusing for the Irish to tell Werner, who is ranked by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 19 outside linebacker, that they don’t have a clear-cut role for him, it plays right into head coach Brian Kelly’s mentality when it comes to recruiting. Kelly likes to evaluate prospects into three separate categories: big skill, power and skill.
Werner, who was named to the Indiana Football Association Class 6A All-State Junior team as a defensive back, would be viewed as a big skill prospect given his athletic ability and one that could eventually play a role like current Notre Dame safety Drue Tranquill, who has doubled as a run-support safety at times.
“Werner actually played cornerback for Cathedral,” Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said when asked about Werner’s skill set. “But his future is at linebacker where he has great range and plays sideline to sideline.”
That natural athletic ability likely comes from his family. Werner’s father, Greg, had a brief stint in the NFL with the New York Giants and his brother Dan is currently a tight end at Harvard.
“When I started picking up offers the big for my parents is that they wanted academics and once they got to Notre Dame they just saw all of that,” Werner said.
Elston was at Cathedral on Tuesday to check up on Werner. He was joined on the sidelines by coaches from Michigan State, Northwestern, Iowa, Syracuse and Boston College. While Werner said that he continues to get inquires from programs around the country, he is more than solid on his pledge to the Irish and is instead focused on recruiting future teammates to join him in South Bend.
“We’re off to a really good start and I would just say that’s because [the coaches] are way ahead of the process,” he said. “We got some really good guys and I mean I’m talking about some of the top talent in the country.
“We got a big group message with all of the commits. We’re just building it one person at a time. It’s a process.”