Notre Dame is well acquainted with Brophy Prep, and one of the Arizona powerhouse’s next best prospects is becoming acquainted with Notre Dame.
Devin Fitzgerald, a 2026 Brophy receiver, has visited South Bend many times in the past year, including attending the Irish’s Junior Day last month.
Fitzgerald has already received dozens of scholarship offers from schools including Arizona, Arizona State, UCLA, UNLV, Florida State, Duke, and Vanderbilt, among others.
Brophy head coach Jason Jewell attributes Fitzgerald’s recent success to his work ethic.
“He’s a big receiver,” Jewell comments. “He’s six-foot-two. He weighs 190 pounds. He’s made remarkable development over the previous year, changing his body and becoming an impact player for us as a junior after being a spot player as a sophomore.”
This previous season, Fitzgerald caught 52 catches for 720 yards and nine touchdowns.
“He came on strong and turned into one of the best receivers in the state of Arizona,” Jewell adds. “He’s got hands, hands, hands, hands, just like his dad.”
Fitzgerald’s father, Larry Fitzgerald, is a great NFL receiver.
“He wants to be his own person and that’s only fair for a teenage kid,” Jewell explains. “But obviously Larry’s very influential with him.”
Jewell admits he didn’t always know Fitzgerald would get to where he is now.
“From the time he applied here in eighth grade to where he is now, he’s grown four inches and leaned out,” according to the instructor. “He hasn’t always looked like he does today.
“If I said I knew he was going to make such an impact, Devin would probably answer, ‘Yeah,’ because he knew. But I wasn’t confident until we’d gone through his sophomore year’s offseason to see what he’d developed into, and he was dominant during our spring and summer practices.”
Notre Dame has seen success at Brophy throughout the years, signing former cornerback Ben Morrison and future cornerback Cree Thomas from the institution.
“They’re regulars here, and our president is a Notre Dame grad as well,” Jewell adds of the Irish. “I’ve been giving them his name since they have been coming around.”
Notre Dame is undoubtedly on Fitzgerald’s radar.
“I know academics are a top emphasis, so obviously big-time football, they recently finished second, and then outstanding academics. I think the mix is excellent, which is why he goes to Brophy. We are also an excellent academic school that competes at the highest level in football.
“I think that’s probably the biggest pull and intrigue.”
