Irish commit Khalid Kareem named MVP of Semper Fidelis bowl

Khalid Kareem will be a freshman at Notre Dame next week. But before going to South Bend, he won some hardware in his final football game as a high schooler. The four-star defensive end was named the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl’s MVP after he recovered two fumbles, returning one for a touchdown and very nearly scoring on a second.

It was a good finale after a dominant week of practice for the one-time Alabama commit who instead will jump into the defensive end depth chart at Notre Dame. Andrew Ivins of BlueandGold.com got this report from Rivals, who was on site in Southern California for a week of practice.

“Just having seen both teams practice, I think he’s probably one of the few guys that looks specifically ready to be a role player or be able to do some things [as a true freshman],” Rivals’ Blair Angulo told B&G. “Obviously I don’t think he’s going to be in there and make an impact right away and be a star, but he’s a guy that I think is ready physically to play.” “He was a nightmare match up off the edge,” Angulo added referencing one-on-one drills. “He has just enough speed, enough size and enough length to be a problem for some of these offensive tackles out here at the Semper Fi Bowl, but he also has a pretty good array of moves.”

Kareem’s physical strength and skill-set is a good place for Keith Gilmore to get started. With Romeo Okwara graduated and Grant Blankenship, Andrew Trumbetti and some other young players fighting to start opposite Isaac Rochell, Kareem has a chance to get into the mix with a strong spring.

Here’s video of Kareem’s two fumble recoveries. Second semester starts January 11th.

#NotreDame @khalid_kareem93 commit with his 2nd fumble recovery, this time for 80 yards. @TheSemperFiBowl pic.twitter.com/gu3vrQT7Na

— 247Sports Recruiting (@247recruiting) January 4, 2016

#NotreDame commit Khalid Kareem (@khalid_kareem93) picks up the loose ball and walks it in for a TD! pic.twitter.com/V8Hw24EaNl

— 247Sports Recruiting (@247recruiting) January 4, 2016