College Football

Eddie Vanderdoes' Notre Dame career off to murky start

The Placer defensive tackle might not be headed to South Bend after all.

By Avinash Kunnath@avinashkunnath May 20, 2013, 11:06pm EDT

Eddie Vanderdoes' promising career with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish could be over before it started. Multiple sources indicate that the consensus five-star recruit isn't headed to Notre Dame and will be looking for a new school. Lou Somogyi of 247Sports reports that the issue is academic, and Steve Montoya of MaxPreps indicates that Vanderdoes has to clear a high school course to get into Notre Dame.

Lot of speculation that national tecruit DT Eddie Vanderdoes may not be headed to Notre Dame after all. Tracking it now
— Joe Davidson (@SacBee_JoeD) May 21, 2013

Vanderdoes really liked UCLA. The Notre Dame appeal is powerful. Something is brewing but not exactly sure. High character kid he is
— Joe Davidson (@SacBee_JoeD) May 21, 2013

I did get this from Vanderdoes family: grades, eligibility or conduct/character "is not and has never been an issue."
— Joe Davidson (@SacBee_JoeD) May 21, 2013

Vanderdoes did officially sign his letter of intent with Notre Dame in February, so he would have to ask to be released from the school if he wanted to go elsewhere. Vanderdoes committed to Notre Dame over schools like USC (a school he was originally committed to last year before reopening his recruitment), UCLA and Alabama, so you'd figure that all those schools would be back in the mix if Vanderdoes doesn't stick with the Irish.

Vanderdoes is a tough physical tackle who could be an immediate contributor as a freshman to whatever school he ends up playing for in college. Vanderdoes is a five-star prospect who is excellent at stopping the run because of his ability to win one-on-one battles. He could be the type of player who pays off immediate dividends, dependent on which school he ends up choosing.