Notre Dame has already put together an elite 2026 recruiting class, but head coach Marcus Freeman isn't done just yet. 4-star defensive lineman Elijah Golden has just set his commitment date for August 9, and he is picking between his top four teams: Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, Alabama, and Notre Dame. Golden has a lot of work to do to whittle down his 41 offers to these top four, and one team seems to be leading the pack.
Notre Dame is now the predicted landing spot for the Sarasota native, which would be a huge win for the Fighting Irish. Golden is ranked as the No. 162 player in the Class of 2026, the No. 23 defensive lineman in the class, and the No. 21 player in the state of Florida.
Golden would be a great addition to a 2026 recruiting class that is filled with defensive talent, and the Fighting Irish certainly can use a little bit of help on the defensive line. This is a player that Freeman should hope to land, but will have to wait almost an entire week to see where he lands.
Interesting.. https://t.co/nDwWC3hXh4
— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) August 4, 2025
Rivals' Steve Wiltfong has a 60% confidence level that Notre Dame will land Golden, who would be the 27th commit in Notre Dame's 2026 class. Currently, the Fighting Irish have the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation according to 247Sports.
Golden narrowed his long list of offers down to just four weeks ago, so he has certainly been taking his time with his commitment decision. There could be a lot of reasons for that, but it probably all comes down to Golden just having a tough time deciding, seems how the confidence level of Notre Dame landing him isn't through the roof.
It seems like Golden wants to make this the right decision the first time around and not think about flipping when the time comes to sign.