Graduate student safety Eddie Scheidler comes from a huge Notre Dame family and always wanted to play for the Irish. Looking back on his time with the team, the small moments with his friends on the team, running out of the tunnel and walking out of the Basilica will stick with him just as much as the big moments — like USC and the Clemson games — will.
“It's a cliche, but it's a dream come true. It was even more special when my younger brother, who's now a sophomore, also became a preferred walk-on last year [and we started coming out of the tunnel] at the same time. And we've made it a kind of tradition through the last season or two where we…run out to the end zone, get pumped a little bit and say a prayer together,“ Scheidler said.
Even though Scheidler plays defense, he was initially recruited to Notre Dame by former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who used to attend Scheidler’s high school in Lake Forest, Ill. His head coach introduced the two because the Irish were looking for walk-on defensive backs.
Scheidler made his collegiate debut in 2021 during the Notre Dame’s 34-6 win over Navy before having a serious knee injury that kept him off the field for a year. This season, he appeared against Tennessee State when the Irish won 56-3.
Reflecting on his five years with the team, Scheidler feels that he’s grown into the person and player he wanted to be.
“I'd say the biggest difference is the person I am," he said. "I feel like I'm more confident, I feel like I'm more mature. I have a better sense of the values I want to carry with me for the rest of my life. And all that is the culture of the football team, the culture of Notre Dame on campus.
“I think when you come into it fresh out of high school, you don't really understand it beyond the surface stuff like the Grotto and the Golden Dome…but I think it's the people you surround yourself with [such as] being in the football building, [and being around the coaches and mentors], the guys in the locker room. I think all that combined just kind of shapes you into the person you are today. And I think I got better at football along the way but I think most importantly, it's the kind of person I am."
Scheidler plans on finishing up his master’s degree in the spring and intends to go into broadcasting after graduation. But before he finishes up with the team, he wants to end the season in the right way.
“We as a team obviously want to finish on a high note, win out and go to a bowl game," Scheidler said. "The season flew by and personally, I’m just savoring everything we have left.”
