The Notre Dame fanbase and everyone around the program was ecstatic when C/O 2025 4-star IOL Cameron Herron announced his decision to flip from Iowa to Notre Dame on October 14th, 2024. Herron is a very talented player with the size and skillset to end up playing either guard or center. He is a highly touted player with 24 D1 offers from notable schools like Iowa, Louisville, Indiana, Wisconsin, and of course, Notre Dame.
Photo via Cameron Herron, Instagram (@shocktheworld_cam)
Herron is a 6’4" 280lbs interior offensive lineman from Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is currently ranked by 247Sports as the 6th overall best player in Indiana and the 240th-best player in the country. He’s the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in Indiana, an All-State Junior, First Team All Marion County, and a 2x First Team All Mic. So it's very easy to see why the coaches and the fanbase were ecstatic about landing Herron.
I was able to catch up with Cameron for an interview about his recruitment, why he flipped to Notre Dame, his relationship with the coaches, and more. Cameron committed to Iowa back in June, but eventually flipped his commitment to Notre Dame earlier this month. But how did Notre Dame come into the picture? According to Cameron, Notre Dame was always a factor, and it all started when the Notre Dame coaching staff came to his school to recruit a fellow classmate.
"Notre Dame has been a factor in my recruitment for a while. This past off-season, they came to my school to recruit Damien Shanklin, and I stopped in the office to introduce myself and I met Coach Rudolph. We started talking and exchanged contact information, and I could just tell from the beginning he liked me. I went on three visits during the off-season and started gaining some attention from there. Coach Rudolph and I developed a great relationship and continued to talk on a very regular basis."
Coach Rudolph saw something in Cameron that day, but there was one problem. Notre Dame didn't have any scholarships open to be able to offer Cameron at that time. But it was Coach Rudolph's honesty and belief in Cameron, and Cameron's willingness to get Notre Dame's attention that kept the possibility of an offer possible.
"At the time, they didn't have any spots open for me but Coach Rudolph continued to push for me to be at Notre Dame. He asked me to come to the Irish Invasion camp to show Coach Freeman and the other coaches what he saw in me and what I was capable of. I went and had a really strong camp. Afterward, I talked to Coach Rudolph and he told me that they didn't have any spots open at that time, but he was going to continue to push for me to get an offer because he believed I belonged at Notre Dame."
Honesty is a great quality in any leader, and Coach Rudolph's honesty and belief in him from the beginning and throughout the process meant everything to Cameron.
"That's what I love and respect so much about Coach Rudolph is that he has always been honest and upfront with me about everything. That means the world to me. He was honest about not having any spots, and he stayed true to his word about pushing for me and finding a spot for me at Notre Dame. I also really loved the way he coached me at those camps and the things I learned from him at that time. He's honestly the best offensive line coach I've ever met."
So, what was it like leading up to the call from Coach Rudolph that started it all?
"A few weeks ago Coach Rudolph called me to let me know that he had continued to fight for me, that a spot had come open, and they were going to offer me to come to Notre Dame. He said we got to get you up here for a visit. So, I went on an official visit and got to meet all the coaches and I just absolutely fell in love with Notre Dame and committed shortly after."
As you can imagine, for a guy like Cameron who had worked as hard as he could in hopes of one day getting that offer from Notre Dame, the moment had to be special. As Cameron told me, it was a feeling of great joy to finally get the offer he had been waiting for.
"I felt great! I had been waiting to get that offer forever. I talked to some of the staff and they said Cam you've worked so hard for this and it was a long journey to get here, but you've earned this and we couldn't be happier to offer you. It felt so great when I finally received the offer."
As you can tell, Cameron is very excited to now be committed to Notre Dame, but how does his family feel about him staying in state and calling ND home? Well, according to Cameron, they're just as excited as he is.
"My family is more than ecstatic for me to be coming to South Bend. A lot of them are Notre Dame fans already, so they're beyond excited for me to be headed there."
What is it about Notre Dame that made this a dream offer for Cameron? And how did the Notre Dame coaches convince him that it truly was home for him?
"Growing up in Indiana, Notre Dame has always been the best "In-state school" when it comes to football and academics. They really sold me on my visits about how important the education, degree, and the connections at Notre Dame are for life after football. I also just love how much the offensive line room in general pushes each other beyond measure to be better every day. Being around that type of competitiveness and motivation is only going to make me and the team better and that's important to me."
As you can tell this was quite a journey for Cameron to end up at Notre Dame. But what can Notre Dame fans expect to get from a player like Cameron?
"They're getting a tough blue-collar kid that's going to come in there on day one and work to the hardest of my ability. They're getting a hard-working team first player that sees it, wants it, and will do whatever it takes to get the job done and to help my teammates get better."
There you have it Irish fans. Cameron is a very talented young man who has had his eye on Notre Dame for a long time. He's worked very hard to get to where he is, and he's very excited to get started at Notre Dame. He's a hard worker who's willing to do what it takes to help his team get better. We at The Irish Tribune would like to wish Cameron and his family good luck on this new journey.
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