For the second time in three weeks, 2025 Indianapolis (Ind.) Warren Central pass rusher Damien Shanklin visited Notre Dame this past weekend during their game against the Pitt Panthers. The in-state star has quickly built a great relationship with the Irish staff, which continued on this most recent visit.
According to Shanklin, this visit gave him the chance to really get to know everyone a little bit better. From other recruits, commits and coaches, relationships were definitely built over the last couple of days.
"The visit went really well,” Shanklin told Irish Breakdown. "I got to hang out with a bunch of the commits on campus. They were all really cool and you can feel the excitement they have for the program.
"It was great to see the coaches,” he continued. "They are great coaches and very welcoming. I talked to most of the coaches on the staff and they told me that they see me going there and helping the team out.”
After seeing Notre Dame dominate USC two weeks ago, Shanklin once again saw a dominant performance on Saturday against Pitt. He has been impressed by the on-field performance the team has been putting together.
"The game was really cool,” said Shanklin. "They are 2-0 in games I’ve been to. The team is playing great.”
There is no questioning that Notre Dame has made a tremendous impact with Shanklin, especially with the two visits these last three weeks. He knows he’s wanted in South Bend, which has always been apparent from the start.
"There is no doubt that they want me over there,” Shanklin said. "I definitely could see myself in the Blue and Gold. They really have something good going.”
Shanklin is beginning to collect several impressive offers over the last few months. Some of the top programs who have extended offers thus far include the Fighting Irish, USC, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Purdue, West Virginia, Kansas, Indiana and Rutgers among others. Warren Central is the same school as former Irish star Sheldon Day.
The 6-4, 230-pound pass rusher is currently ranked as a four-star recruit by both On3 and Rivals. The former ranks Shanklin the highest, sitting as the No. 138 overall player and No. 11 EDGE in the 2025 recruiting class. They also have him pegged as the No. 2 player from the state of Indiana.
As a sophomore, Shanklin assumed a substantial role for Warren Central. The in-state standout collected 32 total tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks.
Now a junior, Shanklin has taken his game to a higher level. In nine games so far, the talented defender has recorded 51 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss and three sacks. Shanklin has also broken up four passes.
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