- The high school student announced his engagement in a video shared on Instagram
- He started out as a running back, wearing his father’s number, but went his own way
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
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Jerome Bettis Jr. is following in the footsteps of his Super Bowl champion father, committing to the University of Notre Dame on Sunday.
The younger Bettis is a six-foot-two, 195-pound receiver who plays at Woodward Academy in the Atlanta area. He is listed by the 247Sports composite as a three-star prospect in the 2025 class.
He announced his engagement on Instagram with a video on Sunday.
“Growing up as a Bettis, I heard about all the ways Notre Dame can change your life academically and athletically,” he said. ‘(..) I am fortunate to announce my commitment to the University of Notre Dame. Become Irish.
Bettis Jr. says he chose the Fighting Irish over schools like Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Duke. He is now the third member of his family to attend the school after his father and his older sister, who was admitted to Notre Dame last year.
Jerome Bettis (right) with his father Jerome Bettis (left) after graduating from Notre Dame in 2022
“They made sure early on that it was known that they had recruited me and not my father,” Bettis Jr. said, according to ESPN. “They wanted me to know that they wanted Jerome Bettis Jr. at Notre Dame because of what he can bring, not just because of what comes with me and my name.
“That was something that was really important to me, because I didn’t really know how they perceived me and my dad and the whole situation, so for them to reassure me, it was great.”
The elder Bettis played three seasons at Notre Dame (1990-92) and was the No. 10 pick of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1993 draft. He played three seasons with the Rams, then 10 with the Steelers. Pittsburgh, winning the Super Bowl in its last campaign.
Bettis played three seasons at Notre Dame (1990-92) and was the 10th overall pick in 1993.
Bettis lifts the Lombardi Trophy after the Pittsburgh Steelers won Super Bowl XL in 2006
He ranks eighth all-time in NFL rushing yards with 13,662 and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
In 2021, the Betis senior returned to Notre Dame’s campus for a year to complete his bachelor’s degree, which he had started nearly 30 years earlier. He graduated in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in commerce.
One thing that will clearly differentiate father and son in the eyes of the Fighting Irish faithful are their jersey numbers. The elder Bettis wore No. 6 at Notre Dame before switching to No. 36 upon arriving in the NFL. He remained with the latter throughout his 13-year career in the league.
Bettis Jr. chose to wear No. 6 at Notre Dame. He played the role of his father and wore his NFL jersey No. until seventh grade.