'09 FL DB Zeke Motta (Notre Dame Verbal)

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Vero Beach (FL) Vero Beach

Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 208 lbs
Forty: 4.6 secs
GPA: 4.0

Originally Posted by Scout Bio

Motta was named First Team 6A All-State defensive back as a junior. He made 143 tackles and two sacks. He managed one interception and four fumble recoveries and blocked five kicks.

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4/15

Auburn and WVU have offered, joining Stanford, Northwestern, Wake Forest, UCF and FIU.

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4/20

From the Maryland site. Motta now holds offers from Maryland, Auburn, Central Florida, Stanford, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. He plans on making a visit to Maryland, and names no leaders.

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5/8

Top 8 of Stanford, Auburn, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Florida State, Wisconsin, Purdue and Notre Dame. ND and FSU haven't offered yet.

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5/27

From the ND site. Motta has started to hear from Notre Dame and says he is very interested. In spite of his father having played at Auburn, he says he is wide open.

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6/30/08

Recaps his visit to Boston College, which he said he enjoyed. Still lists no favorites, and he reportedly visited ND after his BC visit.

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7/2

From the ND site. Notre Dame has offered, and Zeke talks about how much he liked the coaches. He hasn't narrowed everything down yet, but says that Notre Dame, Florida, Stanford, Boston College, UCLA, Clemson and Auburn will make his cut for sure.

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College recruiting on the Treasure Coast: Trails & tales : Top Sport Stories : TCPalm

Zeke Motta returns from a five-day trip to find a towering pile of mail from college football recruiters.

Most of the letters are from Division I schools such as Florida, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Clemson and Auburn.

The handwritten ones, Motta says, are extra special.

Motta, a Vero Beach senior, has hundreds more letters meticulously filed away in a crate, organized by school. He reads every one of them.

The first one came in the fall of 2006 from a Florida International University coach, who took an interest in him during his sophomore year. The rest flowed in over the winter after he was named first-team All-State and participated in invitation-only, 7-on-7 tournaments back in January and February.

At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, Motta is a versatile defensive back who has the size and grades to attract the country's best colleges.

"It's a good problem to have," Motta says. "Trying to deal with all the coaches calling, recruiting companies calling, it gets overwhelming, but at the same time it feels good to be wanted."

Within an hour his dad's cell phone rings.

It's the University of Central Florida, checking to see if the Knights are still in the picture. College coaches can't call Motta at this point, but they can contact his dad, Bill Motta, because he is an assistant coach for Vero Beach High School.

He gets an average of six calls a day.

"At this point, just about everyone is in the picture," Bill Motta says after hanging up.

Motta, meanwhile, has bounced around the country looking for the right fit.

Motta has visited 21 schools over the last two years and has spent 24 days on the road since the end of school, attending camps or taking unofficial visits at seven schools with his dad. His father estimates the trips have cost $5,000, a worthwhile investment into what could result in $250,000 in scholarships.

"I enjoyed it, but it was tiring," Motta said of the travel. "It's hectic trying to evaluate all the colleges."

ZEKE MOTTA

School: Vero Beach

Position: Safety/linebacker

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210

Key stats: He led the Fighting Indians with 143 tackles and had two sacks, an interception and four fumble recoveries during the 2007 season. Named first-team All-State in 2007.

College status: Undecided. Has received 35 to 40 offers. Stanford and Notre Dame are high on his list, but no official visits have been scheduled.

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7/22

By Bakas...last month visisted Clemson, Wake Forest, Auburn, Florida, Stanford, Boston College and Notre Dame. Camped at Clemson, Auburn, Stanford, Notre Dame and Florida. Miami (FL) recently offered and has offers from all the schools he has visited except Florida.

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7/28

From the Clemson site...says Clemson and Wake Forest are recruiting him the hardest. Talks about what stands out with regards to Clemson and Coach Rumph. Plans to come up with a top 5 soon and take his officials.

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ESPN - College Football Recruiting On the Trail 2009

Zeke Motta concentrating on four programs
Top safety prospect Zeke Motta told ESPN affiliate Web site that he's only seriously considering Florida, Auburn, Notre Dame and Boston College, "Those are the ones I'm really down to right now."

Additionally, Motta had a great time on his recent visit to Auburn, "It was great being courted around like a king. I know once I get to where I'm going it's going to change. It was fun. It certainly did change things (Auburn moved up his list)."

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Vero Beach's Motta verbally commits to play football at Notre Dame : Top Sport Stories : TCPalm

Vero Beach senior Zeke Motta finally can relax.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound defensive back verbally committed to play football for Notre Dame on Thursday. He will graduate high school early and enroll in January to get a head-start with the team.

“It feels great,” Motta said. “I’m just excited and can’t wait to get up there -- again.”

His college search has been a trying process.

Motta, a four-star athlete ranked by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 10 linebacker, drew the interest of Division I colleges shortly after the Florida Sports Writers Association named him a first-team All-State defensive back in Class 6A last year. His mailbox was constantly filled with letters from coaches, he spent the summer traveling across the country to attend camps and unofficially toured campuses of schools showing interest.

And yes, his phone has been ringing off the hook.

Motta, who attended a summer camp at Notre Dame, made his official visit to the South Bend, Ind. campus last weekend. That experience convinced Motta that is where he belonged.

He had narrowed down his choices to Notre Dame and Florida, which he unofficially visited three times. Among other schools recruiting him were Boston College, Florida State, Auburn and UCLA.

“I just got the right feeling from Notre Dame,” Motta said. “I just felt like I belonged there, and I didn’t get that at Florida. Not to take anything away from Florida -- that’s a great team, and I would have loved to play there -- but I felt more comfortable at Notre Dame.

"I just had to do what’s best for me.”

Motta, who leads Vero Beach with 42 tackles this season, attended the Notre Dame vs. Stanford on Saturday, and said the college gameday experience there was overwhelming.

“They have great respect, and there’s an aura that surrounds Notre Dame football,” Motta said.

His dad, Vero Beach defensive coordinator Bill Motta, said he is thrilled with his son‘s decision.

“There’s a lot of energy on campus on gameday, and the student body was really excited,” Bill Motta said. “It wasn’t a stuffy place. I think a lot of people have that vision of it being a stuffy, uppity place, but the feeling at the game, it made it a perfect visit.”