The Notre Dame football team's recruiting heater had cooled off a bit, but with the commitment of Elijah Golden, Marcus Freeman and Co. are back on a roll.
Golden, the 4-star defensive lineman out of Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, FL), was one of the best remaining uncommitted defensive linemen on the market. When he announced on Saturday afternoon that he picked the Irish, it meant that Notre Dame got the win over power programs like Alabama, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech. In all, he racked up more than 41 offers, but he's been trending towards Freeman's squad for quite a while, according to most recruiting analysts.
Notre Dame recruiting: Elijah Golden commitment boosts the 2026 class ranking
Elijah Golden was initially supposed to announce on July 26, but opted to push his commitment back by a couple of weeks. Some Notre Dame football fans got nervous that he might not pull the trigger for them with the push back. However, on August 4, On3's Steve Wiltfong entered a prediction that had the defender still pulling the trigger for the Irish. On Saturday, he made it clear the analysts were right on the money.
247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins was quite impressed with Golden in his official scouting report.
"Green front-line defender with the materials needed to eventually emerge as a force at the point of attack. Might project best as a base end that can play over tackles and set the edge, but could kick further inside or even hang on the outside depending on how the body fills out in coming years. Tends to make the biggest impact with his engine as he will work vigorously to get through obstacles and then build speed in pursuit."
Elijah Golden is officially the 27th commitment for the Notre Dame football team's 2026 class. The Irish entered the day ranked 4th in the country according to On3, but could be on the rise one more time with the most recent add.