Angel on the Sideline? Torii Hunter Jr. Commits to Notre Dame

Although sixteen-year MLB veteran Torii Hunter of the Los Angeles Angels might have invoked the legacies of former two-sport stars Deion Sanders and Bo Jackson, the ongoing success of former Notre Dame wide receiver and current Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jeff Samardzija may have had more of an influence on his son in committing to the Irish.

Of course, being one of 80,795 screaming fans in attendance at Notre Dame Stadium Saturday didn’t hurt either, because after watching the Irish beat Michigan 13-6 Saturday night, Sunday morning Torii Hunter Jr., a four-star recruit from Prosper, Texas, verbally committed to Notre Dame.

“Congrats to my son THunterJr for his commitment to Notre Dame to play football and baseball,” tweeted his “proudpapa,” while his son added “it just feels good.”

“I heard about the atmosphere, and I got a good dose of it [Saturday],” said Hunter, who chose the Irish over Nebraska and Arizona State, who also extended offers. “I liked the fact that this will help me long term, as far as with having a network of people all over the world. It’s good to know that will help me later in life.”

Hunter became Notre Dame’s 21st commitment of the 2013 recruiting class. Ranked No. 50 in the ESPN 150 and the No. 8 receiver in the country, Hunter will join fellow Texans in four-star running back Jamel James (Katy, Texas/Cinco Ranch) and three-star receiver Corey Robinson (San Antonio/San Antonio Christian) in the class.

As you may recall, Robinson is the son of NBA legend David Robinson, and although there have been a lot of father/son combos who both played for Notre Dame (including current ND wideout T.J. Jones and guard Mike Golic Jr. sons of former ND greats Andre Jones and Mike Golic Sr.) the two new recruits would undoubtedly be the college wide receiver duo with the most dads if they both were to start at Notre Dame.

Last season, Hunter caught 43 balls for 749 yards and 11 touchdowns. This season, Hunter leads Prosper with 15 receptions for 329 yards and four touchdowns, averaging almost 22 yards per catch.

Hunter had official visits scheduled for Nebraska on Sept. 28, Arizona State on Oct. 27 and Utah on Nov. 17, but he said Sunday he will not take them, as he realizes now that Notre Dame has everything he wants.

And while it’s too early to tell if Hunter will excel enough in sports at Notre Dame to be offered a pro contract in baseball, football, or both, the Chicago Bears will definitely need a wide receiver by then, and Samardzija is the first one to tell you the Cubs need help everywhere pretty much all the time.

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