MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- Notre Dame tight end and 2022 Mishawaka High School graduate Justin Fisher, along with fellow Notre Dame tight end Eli Reardon stopped by MHS Thursday morning to give students a motivational talk.

The players spoke to students involved in the 21st Century Scholars program, and those in the Early College program.

Thet talk's message centered on the importance of “choosing hard," a theme embraced by this past season’s Notre Dame football team and brought into the classroom by MHS English teacher Randy Ebright.

“In order to encourage students to both challenge themselves and take advantage of the opportunities they have in academics and in life, Justin’s story as a Mishawaka graduate and Notre Dame athlete is incredibly inspiring. He shows what’s possible when you set high goals and work relentlessly to achieve them," Ebright said.

The players also stuck around to sign autographs and take pictures with students.

"It's awesome. I think about a place like Mishawaka High School, that's given me so much. So, it's an extreme honor to be able to come back here and speak and just, you know, try to provide any wisdom I can to, you know, the students here at Mishawaka," said Fisher.

MHS officials say they're grateful the players' willingness to inspire and motivate the next generation of Cavemen to strive for excellence on and off the field.

Reardon said, "It's just choosing the hard path every day. You know, it's easy to sleep in and not doing anything all day but waking up early and choosing the hard thing to do is ultimately going to get you to where you want to be honest."