It’s been a pretty good week for the Notre Dame football team. Tuesday night will illustrate just how good it is when the next batch of College Football Playoff rankings drop. However, while we wait with bated breath to see if the Irish move up, there’s plenty to be happy about.
The 52-3 win over the Florida State Seminoles would have been good enough. That was the kind of statement win, even over a bad team, that shows just how complete a squad Marcus Freeman’s boys are right now.
But they got more good news on Monday night. Notre Dame Football secured the commitment of Nolan James, a 3-star running back out of Depaul Catholic in New Jersey. They managed to swipe him away from Boston College just a few days after he took an official visit to see the Irish beat down FSU.
Nolan James will stay teammates with another Notre Dame Football commit
Depaul Catholic certainly boasts an impressive offense and James is a part of that. But there’s another player on the team that the running back will now be joining in South Bend. Wide receiver commit Elijah Burress gave his pledge earlier this year.
James switching his commitment from Boston College to Notre Dame could also help Marcus Freeman keep Burress in the fold after Michigan State came calling. The Spartans have put on the full court press, but he’s remained committed so far.
3-star doesn’t show how good he really is
Undoubtedly some Notre Dame fans are going to look at James’ 3 stars and less than impressive national rankings and see a player that isn’t something to get excited about. However, the man can run and he can do it quite quickly.
This fall, James has 181 rushes for 1,419 yards and 14 touchdowns. He's added another 22 receptions for 265 yards and two more scores.
Nolan James is the second running back in the Irish 2025 class
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound speedster's announcement gives the Notre Dame football team two versatile backs in the class, as he joins longtime Irish commit Justin Thurman. The addition of the Garden State star brings the Irish to 24 commitments in the 2025 class total. Following the announcement, Notre Dame remains at No. 14 in the class rankings. However, it’s looking like he won’t be the last addition before signing day.