NJ Football: St. Joseph's recruit John Olmstead chooses Notre Dame

St. Joseph High School junior John Olmstead, New Jersey’s top-ranked college prospect and one of the nation’s most heavily recruited players, announced during a press conference on Friday that he has accepted a scholarship offer from Notre Dame.

Olmstead, who is ranked among the Top 10 nationally at his position in the class of 2019, according to Rivals.com, chose Notre Dame over Michigan, Minnesota, Ole Miss and Rutgers.

“It was a gut feeling,” Olmstead said about his selection of Notre Dame. “I was there four times and just fell in love with the place. I fell in love with the players, and the coaches and everything. I loved everything about the school. The tradition there is among the best, everything from Touchdown Jesus to the Golden Dome.”

The two-way tackle, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs 305 pounds, held 35 scholarship offers, the second most nationwide among uncommitted offensive linemen in the class of 2019, according to 247Sports.

An excellent student with an outstanding pedigree, Olmstead owns a 3.9 grade-point average. Olmstead’s parents, Pat and John, played college basketball and football, while his four sisters all played college lacrosse, two at the Division I level.

Almost all of Olmstead’s offers were from Power 5 schools including 10 that were ranked among the Top 25 in last season’s Associated Press final college football bowl.

“The thing I like about Notre Dame is the offensive line group gets along and they all hang out together," Olmstead said. "A lot of offensive linemen at our school (St. Joseph) are that way. I’m coming out of a school where (the linemen) are really tight-knit. I’m looking for that in college.”

Olmstead is arguably the most coveted player from Middlesex County (N.J.) since East Brunswick quarterback Bryan Fortay signed with Miami in 1989, and is the most highly touted offensive lineman from Middlesex County since J.P. Stevens’ Jeremy Zuttah (2003) and Piscataway’s Anthony Davis (2006) signed with Rutgers. Both went on to play in the NFL, which is where St. Joseph head coach Rich Hilliard expects Olmstead will eventually land.

“Every coach that comes into this building that wants him to play for his university says that John will probably be in the NFL, and they’ll be lucky to keep him (for four years),” Hilliard said. “They all have high hopes for him.”

Olmsteads nonbinding commitment will not become official until he signs a National Letter of Intent. The early signing period for Division I football is Dec. 19-21.

Prior to Olmstead’s arrival, St. Joseph was renowned as a national basketball power with the school’s big men on campus being future first-round NBA Draft picks Karl-Anthony Towns, Jay Williams, Andrew Bynum and Wade Baldwin.

Olmstead has helped put his high school’s fledgling football program, which recently completed its seventh season, on the map. With him leading the way, the Falcons have compiled an 18-2 record over the past two years and last season amassed more than 3,400 yards from scrimmage while winning a second consecutive division championship.

“When I went to watch him play, it’s clear what his value is,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn said. “Every time they needed a big play, they ran right over him. He plays with power. He just needs to work on his balance so he doesn’t reach as much, but you can’t teach his length and his size. He’s already very strong.

“He’s a kid that can play tackle or guard in college. He has the athleticism to be able to pull as an interior lineman, and also the strength to survive inside in college."

Some of the other schools that offered Olmstead include Ohio State, Arkansas, Arizona State, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Mississippi State, Nebraska, N.C. State, Missouri, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Wisconsin, Virginia Tech and UCLA.

“To have that many Power 5 schools come after him and pay attention to him” Dohn said, “is impressive.”

Alyssa Davis, director of communications at St. Joseph, said Olmstead has remained grounded throughout the recruiting process.

“He’s somebody who has the ability to take his academics and athletics seriously, yet at the same time can joke around and make light of certain situations,” Davis said.

"John is the complete package. He’s a well-rounded individual with personality and very respectful, which is a credit to his family."