Starting on the defensive end for the varsity football team, Aiden Gobaira is ranked 288 in the ESPN top 300 high school players in the country for the class of 2022. Gobaira received athletic scholarships from 19 different colleges, and was invited to the 2022 All-American Bowl. Ever since joining the school’s football program, his skills on the field have caught the attention of multiple colleges.

Gobaira got his first offer from Virginia Tech on April 10, 2020. Three days later, the University of Virginia also gave him an offer. By June, Gobaira had 12 scholarship offers, according to BlueAndGold.  He decided to go to Notre Dame.

Ever since football became his primary sport in his freshman year, Gobaira showed improvement as a defensive end, starting as a three-star recruit when he first committed to Notre Dame, to becoming a four-star recruit making national ranks.

“His skills have progressed exponentially,” defensive lineman coach Adam Neff said. “Other teams have been doing everything they can to try to stop him from getting to the quarterback. [Oct. 1], he got quadruple-teamed.” 

On Oct. 1, CHS beat Alexandria City High School 41-27. The CHS varsity football team is 5-3.

“He always breaks the huddles down and leads the team out onto the field for our games,” sophomore offensive lineman Andrew Lampe said. “When I played football freshman year, there wasn’t much leadership. But when I got to JV and varsity, I noticed the difference in leadership, and Aiden Gobaira was a big part of that.” 

The recruiting process can be “stressful” according to Gobaira. Players have to visit colleges, meet with team coaches, deal with constant phone calls from all different colleges, and do different interviews from different media outlets. 

“The college recruitment process is very hectic, to say the least,” Gobaira said. “It is a bunch of colleges [calling me] trying to get [me] to come to play for their school, and I honestly felt bad a lot of the time because I couldn’t talk to them all and had to shut [some offers] down.”

Gobaira announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Feb. 6. According to BlueAndGold, Notre Dame is a top 20 academic school and their team made it to the Rose Bowl in the college football playoff in 2020.

“It’s the best place for me education-wise and their defense is a national powerhouse.” Gobaira said. “I just feel like they’ll get me to where I need to be in my football career.” 

Committing to a college for football can open the door for endorsements, and a career past college such as the NFL. For most college commits, the NFL is the goal. Gobaira feels the same way.

“My goal is to play football as long as I can, if I am able to play at the next level I’d love to do it,” Gobaira said. 

Being a college football recruit has affected Aiden Gobaira’s life in a positive way. 

“Without football, I do not know where I would be right now,” Gobaira said. “I would be trying to get an education and play football at some other college that I don’t even know if I could get in. Because of football I do not have to worry about that, or the money that college requires. Football has truly been a blessing.”