At this point, it’s not remotely a surprise that Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame are on one heck of a recruiting run. What might be a little bit surprising is just how good that run has been in the eyes of analysts all over the country.
ESPN is the latest organization to give the Fighting Irish their flowers. Freeman and his staff have built a 2026 recruiting class that is striking fear in the hearts of opponents' fans, making other head coaches nervous, and impressing the people who need to be impressed.
Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame recruiting run is officially scaring the rest of college football
According to ESPN’s latest recruiting rankings update, the Notre Dame football team is currently sitting at No. 3 in the country. And while there are plenty of recruiting mavens who might advocate ignoring the organization at all, it’s worth pointing out that plenty of people still hold the sports giant in high regard.
Word of mouth is a big deal in recruiting. An organization with the reach and power of ESPN, having the Irish ranked this high, is only a good thing. That other orgs are similarly sold on Marcus Freeman’s work in the area is icing on the cake.
Taking a look at other recruiting services shows that Notre Dame is getting more good news. 247Sports now has the Fighting Irish as the No. 2 2026 class in the country, behind only USC. And Blue and Gold are doing that with 11 fewer commits.
On3 says that the Irish are the No. 4 team in the country, while Rivals also has them in the No. 2 slot behind the Trojans again. All these services have in common that they believe the Notre Dame football team is doing real work in the recruiting world. And things could only improve as the summer barrels toward the start of the 2025 season.