4-star Notre Dame commit politely tells Auburn and Hugh Freeze he's not interested

Marcus Freeman has built something at Notre Dame that former head coach Brian Kelly could have only dreamed of having, and that is a culture that players truly want to come play for. Freeman has turned into one of the best recruiters in the country as the Fighting Irish are now a premier spot to come and play for high school recruits.

When a recruit commits to Notre Dame, it isn't very often seen that they de-commit and go somewhere else. This is proven simply by the fact that when other programs come calling, recruits simply say no, just like Elijah Golden did to head coach Hugh Freeze at Auburn.

Four-star defensive lineman Elijah Golden has been committed to the Fighting Irish since early August, and when another school came calling, he practically told them to talk to the phone. Freeze reached out to Golden to see if he wanted to take a visit to Auburn for a game, but Golden declined.

"God led me to this decision, and I'm sticking with that decision," Golden said in an interview with On3. "I'm very excited to enroll early."

It is clear that when recruits are picking Notre Dame, Freeman is showing them a culture they truly want to play for, and it also doesn't hurt that the Fighting Irish are a team that can compete for a National Championship year in and year out.

Golden is the No. 19 defensive lineman in the Class of 2026 and the No. 21 player in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports. The Sarasota native had many schools vying for his recruitment, but Freeman and Notre Dame won out, and he plans to enroll early to get with the team early in the spring.