No one tell Marcus Freeman that the Notre Dame football team can’t grab every single prospect it sets its eyes on. When the Fighting Irish are on this kind of a streak, they really can’t be doubted in any way.
The hot streak continued on Saturday as Freeman and company scored a commitment from 4-star defensive lineman Tiki Hola. The Bastrop, Texas prospect had narrowed his list down to the Irish, USC and SMU.
These days, whenever Notre Dame football gets to be one of the last teams to be considered, they are the winners. Even if it means pulling a player out of the state of Texas and away from one of the more up and coming teams in the Lone Star State.
Over the last few weeks, the Blue and Gold had been trending in the right the right direction for the 6-foot-2.5, 285 pound defender. It was already all the sweeter that it appears the Trojans had fallen by the wayside.
It seemed that entering Hola’s announcement ceremony on Saturday it had already come down to the Fighitng Irish and the Mustangs. In the end, it appears the pull of going to play Hola’s college ball in South Bend was too much too ignore.
Hola has been considered a lean to ND for almost a month now as both 247Sports and On3 analysts believed Marcus Freeman had himself another commitment. Now it’s officially official.
With the commitment of Hola, the Notre Dame football team has 15 pledges in its 2026 class. Of that number, more than half (8) have chosen the Fighitng Irish over all progams since April 5. He’s also the ninth commit to the Golden Domers since the calender turned to 2025.