Notre Dame recruits dig hoops star Skylar Diggins
BY NEIL HAYES nhayes@suntimes.com June 27, 2012 7:30PM
Updated: July 29, 2012 5:11PM
Jonas Gray expected to be asked about playing football at Notre Dame. The other question he’s constantly fielding has nothing to do with the game.
His new Miami Dolphins teammates keep asking the running back if he knows Fighting Irish women’s basketball standout Skylar Diggins, who gained national recognition — and plenty of TV face time — while leading Notre Dame to the NCAA Finals last spring.
“It does not fail,” said Gray, who signed with the Dolphins as a undrafted free agent after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament during his senior season. “People ask me why I haven’t tried to talk to her. I say, ‘I don’t know.’ I haven’t done it. She’s a great girl. Everybody loves her on campus.”
Gray said recruits want to meet Diggins when they visit Notre Dame’s campus, often asking her to pose for pictures.
Diggins recently tweeted: “Just met a couple ND recruits … young men were very polite haha.”
When one of her 250,000 followers asked if Notre Dame coaches used her help recruit, the South Bend native replied: “I’ve done my fair share of recruiting.”
“She’s a recruiting tool because everybody wants to meet her and they see her at games,” Gray said. “She’s always in the cheering section. She’s definitely become part of the Notre Dame stigma.”
Neil Hayes
