Notre Dame of Fairfield's Kevin Harrigan Signs With CCSU

For most of the nation’s top prospects, national signing day was on Wednesday. This day signifies the first opportunity for America’s most sought-after high school athletes to decide where they will attend college by signing their letters of intent.

But due to the recent inclement weather, the press conference for Notre Dame of Fairfield football star Kevin Harrigan was pushed back a day. He officially signed with the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils on Thursday to play offensive tackle. 

“I’m really excited about my decision,” Harrigan said.  “When I went to Central Connecticut for my visit I felt right at home, and I fell in love with both the hard-working coaches and players.”

Although many different schools would be interested in a player of Harrigan’s caliber, Central Connecticut's recent success - along with its incoming freshman class-  convinced Harrigan that this was the place for him.

“I was very happy that Kevin choose Central Connecticut because that was always his first choice,” said Tom Harrigan, Kevin's father. “After his official visit, he was really excited about the opportunity.”

The Blue Devils won their second straight Northeast Conference title last season and their fourth in seven years.

Central Connecticut head coach Jeff McInerney first witnessed Harrigan's ability during the Blue Devils’ football camp last summer.

“Kevin is a very intelligent player who excelled at many positions in high school,” McInerney said. “He lined up mostly at tight end and defensive end, but he will start out as an offensive lineman at CCSU”

Harrigan’s former coaches and staff at Notre Dame are happy for him and see him as a special player.

“I’m very proud of him,” Notre Dame head football coach Joe Beler said.  “Of all the thousands of kids to play high school football in Connecticut this year, only 24 public school kids signed a letter of intent to play Division I. And I’m happy to say that one of our kids was one of them.”

Harrigan brings a special element to the game of football. He has plenty of size at 6-foot-6 and 280 pounds, but he also is extremely athletic, having played a number of different positions.

“Being as big and athletic as Kevin is, we tried to utilize him all his skills,” Beler said. “But once Kevin can concentrate on one position, he will be able to flourish there.”

However,  for now, Harrigan is happy to be able to reach one of his goals that he has had since he was young.

“It feels fantastic to be a Division I player,” he said. “It’s really just a dream come true.”