Ethan Long is one of the best college football players in the country, and on Monday night, the Milford athlete made one school very happy.

“With that being said, for the next three to four years, I’ll be taking my talents to the University of Notre Dame,” he revealed.

Friends, family and coaches stacked the box at Dockside for the four-star safety’s live commitment decision.

“This is like the most important decision of my life,” he said.

Long narrowed his choices down to a few big-time college football programs, like Michigan, Notre Dame and Penn State.

“I believe I made the right choice and I feel like I’m home,” he said.

Long said he’s blessed to get to this point in his journey, which included a year at St Joe’s in Trumbull and the last few years at Brunswick in Greenwich.

“It was definitely the biggest risk of my life. I risked a lot. I moved out of my own home, I left a lot of friends, I left a lot of old teammates, left my old coaches,” he said.

Long has a connection to the fighting Irish football. His cousin Austin Webster was the first ever walk-on captain at Notre Dame.

“And he really left a name for himself, and I was like I want to be like him, I want to make sure I leave my mark. I’m going to work hard every day and I’m going to prove it,” he said.

Long’s father, Kevin Long, went to Foran High School in Milford and played college football at Villanova.

He says he’s proud of his son, not just because he’s a great athlete but a great student, too. 

“He’s had offers from a few Ivy League schools which I think is really impressive," Kevin Long said. "The fact that he’s worked this hard to get to where he’s at avoiding [all] the unnecessary distraction, he’s done a real nice job.”