Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Ohio Top Prep DE Tom Strobel's Constant Hustle

Two things stand out when talking to Tom Strobel, the highly recruited defensive end out of Mentor High School in Ohio. Strobel's strong desire for achieving academic perfection in the classroom and his constant hustle on the playing field.

Strobel carries 240 pounds on his 6'6" frame and he also carries a 3.78 GPA. As a two sport star, his work ethic is unquestionable. In Mentor's first game in 2010 Strobel suffered a fractured trachea, and was projected to be out for up to six weeks, he was cleared and back on the field in two. "I healed very fast," said Strobel, "I was cleared on a Friday and back on the field that night. I hadn't lifted or ran in two weeks, but I just brushed it aside and got out there."

I asked Cardinal's head coach about Strobel's work ethic and he stated, "Tom is a great all around young man.  He works very hard in his studies and his sports.  He is the most complete player I have coached." He went on to say, "When you look at school, the weight room and playing (football) he always gives his best effort."

His best effort is impressive, one of Strobel's goals for 2011 is to win the State Championship through hard work.

What is most evident when watching Tom Strobel is his hustle, he literally goes full speed from whistle to whistle. "Full speed is best," said Strobel, "I like to make the play or be at the play, not to sound selfish but I really like to be around the ball."

Strobel has an explosive first step and gets into the backfield in a hurry, causing opposing quarterbacks to make bad decisions. Couple the quickness with his leg drive and Strobel appears to drive ball carriers threw the turf.

With his course load and GPA Strobel would be a good candidate for the early enrollee program, but that doesn't seem to be in his plans, with basketball and other activities Strobel indicated that he would most likely stay at Mentor until graduation. He also hinted that he would hold off on making a decision until later on. "Initially I planned on making a decision before my senior year, but I think I will wait now."

While Tom Strobel has already visited the Notre Dame campus, he commented on how beautiful it was, he said that he was treated well and met some of the player, it was an all around good trip.

In what seems to be a growing trend with players being recruited by Brian Kelly, Strobel spoke with pride about his involvement in the community, "We go to senior centers and serve meals, we work with Army veterans and our whole team runs football camps for the kids," he said with excitement.

With prestigious academic institutions such as Stanford and Northwestern among Strobel's 18 offers, he will no doubt land at an elite university, no matter where he decides to go, it is certain that he will be a credit to that particular school both on and off the field.