Meet Aamil Wagner, a Notre Dame Football recruit from Marcus Freeman’s hometown

HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio— Aamil Wagner is a four-star offensive lineman who has committed to play football at the University of Notre Dame next year.

Wagner currently plays at new Notre Dame Football Head Coach Marcus Freeman’s Ohio alma mater, Wayne High School.

The standout player said he chose Notre Dame over schools like Penn State and even Ohio State to share the field with a man he considers to be rare—and much more than a coach.

“Coach Freeman, while he was at Cincinnati, was able to come back, support us, kind of teach us life lessons about football.” Wagner said. “Having him be at Notre Dame and being there and able to take care of me—having someone that I know that’s going to look out for me while I was there was a big deal. So, when the news was announced he was the defensive coordinator there and planned to stay there for a while it was a big thing for me and I felt comfortable with him.”

Wagner said that standing out on the football field is one thing, but being aware of what awaits him after football played into his decision to choose Notre Dame, too.

"The good thing about committing to Notre Dame was it was really the education and the football combined. So, it wasn’t really all relying on football. I think it was definitely a concern seeing Coach Kelly go but – so not knowing who was going to be the head coach was a little bit of a concern. Obviously, Marcus Freeman being who he was, being from my hometown, I was rooting for him but I think if he didn’t get the job I would still be at Notre Dame because I committed to Notre Dame, not the coaches," Wagner said.