Lawrence Academy’s Chan commits to Notre Dame
Ty Chan’s football journey has already taken him west once from Lowell to Groton. Next stop: South Bend, Ind.
The highly-recruited junior offensive lineman from Lawrence Academy announced his verbal commitment to play for Notre Dame on Thursday, picking the Fighting Irish among an array of high-profile Division I offers.
“I never would have thought I would be in this position and because of that I am forever grateful for what I have been blessed and gifted with through God,” said Chan via Twitter. “I want to thank my friends, family and my coach Jason Swepson for believing in me during this process.”
He became the second Lawrence Academy player from the class of 2022 to make his college intentions known as junior tight end Matt Ragan chose Boston College in October.
Chan spent two years at Lowell High prior to transferring to LA and reclassifying as a sophomore. He spent one year as a two-way starter for the Spartans last fall — Swepson praised the work the Lowell coaches did with him before he arrived — before this season was wiped out by the pandemic.
Swepson believes with some work in the weight room he can man the left tackle position he occupies for LA at Notre Dame.
“He’s got all the measurables at 6-5, 265 pounds and he’s extremely athletic — a great basketball player. Just overall tremendous, tremendous potential. Probably the best thing about him is he has no bad habits. He’s not one of these guys that have been to a bunch of camps or so-called O-line gurus.”
The postponement or cancellation of football seasons across the state this fall has hindered the recruiting process for many Massachusetts players. Chan, however, was fortunate to have offers flood in after an impressive showing at a showcase in Delaware in August.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is a St. John’s Prep product and has not been shy about mining his home state, as the roster already has a pair of Massachusetts natives on it in offensive lineman Quinn Murphy from Duxbury High and wide receiver Jay Brunelle of St. John’s (Shrewsbury). The Irish are in the midst of perhaps their best season under Kelly, sitting at 10-0 and No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
“I’m ecstatic to join this great football family and be coached under Coach Kelly and (offensive line coach Jeff) Quinn,” said Chan.
When it comes to families, the Ragans have extensive ties to The Heights. John Ragan, Matt’s father, played tight end and linebacker at BC, where he was a teammate of Swepson, while his older brother Sean is a current redshirt junior offensive lineman for the Eagles after starring at St. John’s (S). Mother Katie and a slew of aunts, uncles and cousins are all also BC grads.
But his decision, which he made in October, was less about that legacy than what BC brought to the table.
“I wasn’t like alright, I have to go to BC because my family went there. I was finding what was good for me,” said Ragan. “If BC was a different school, farther away, and my family didn’t go there, because of the coaching staff and how I fit, I think I still would have gone there. It was just a bonus.”
Swepson said that the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Westborough native’s best attributes are his athleticism and particularly his ball skills, which are among the best he has coached. Watching Hunter Long blossom into an NFL prospect in his first year under new BC head coach Jeff Hafley certainly didn’t hurt Ragan’s recruitment.
“It was good to see,” said Ragan. “I have a lot of confidence in the new staff and the direction of the program. They use tight ends as well as anyone in the country.”
Lawrence Academy has struggled with numbers in the program recently, even having to forfeit games, but Chan and Ragan are looking forward to showing that the program is back on the rise in their senior year.
And their football paths should cross again as collegians as BC, which has also extended preferred walk-on status to LA senior running back Tony Muse, is scheduled to visit South Bend in 2022.
“We have talked about it,” said Ragan. “It will be cool seeing him before and after the game. It will be a nice reunion.”