When Chad Bowden was on the Notre Dame recruiting staff, it seemed like he, Marcus Freeman, and the rest of the staff worked quite well together. However, something soured at some point, because last year, Bowden jumped ship. He didn't just jump to any old ship either. He left South Bend to take a job with its bitter rival, USC.
Since Bowden's been in Los Angeles, his footprint has been all over the Trojans' recruiting plan. He's had quite a bit of success, too, considering USC has been right around the top of the teams in the 2027 classes. However, it looks like the recruiting staffers' "take no prisoners" approach might have backfired earlier this week when 4-star wide receiver Eli Woodard decommitted.
Decommits happen; they even occasionally happen at Notre Dame, and recruiting staffers aren't usually blamed. However, with Chad Bowden and reports that a "no visits" policy was one reason Woodard reopened his recruitment, those around the Irish program see similarities with how things went when he was in South Bend.
On3 analyst Adam Gorney said there were two reasons why Woodard is looking elsewhere. "NIL funds and a no-visit policy caused 4-star WR Eli Woodard to decommit from USC." Both of those things could fall under Bowden's purview.
Eli Woodard’s USC exit gives Notre Dame football a familiar Chad Bowden subplot
Woodard first committed to the Trojans on February 10, shortly after he attended a junior day event on campus. He is a longtime target for USC, which extended him a scholarship offer in June of 2025. While he was a longtime target,
He is the No. 178 overall player and No. 23 wide receiver on the 247Sports composite. He is the No. 15 player from California. While his ties to the state might actually work in USC's favor if he looked to come back once he tests the "free agent" waters, Woodard is originally from the St. Louis area but moved to Southern California for more recruiting exposure. He might even look somewhere closer to the middle of the country. Could Notre Dame take advantage of Bowden's hubris?
Woodard had an excellent junior season at Chaparral High School, emerging as one of the most explosive wide receivers in California. He caught 51 passes for 1,070 yards and 17 touchdowns in 12 games, averaging 21 yards per catch. He also played on defense, making 32 tackles, one interception, and breaking up seven passes.
Notre Dame hasn't been in the fight for Woodard yet, but it's clear there's some bad blood between Bowden and the Irish staff, even if no one would admit it. Advertisements and social media posts aimed at the Fighting Irish underlined that even if the two teams aren't playing each other, there's no love lost.
The Fighting Irish almost certainly won't start recruiting a wide receiver in the 2027 class out of the blue this late in the game. Even if Notre Dame doesn't pursue Eli Woodard, it can still enjoy what appears to be Chad Bowden's strict approach to recruiting, chasing off one of USC's top commits.
Add us as a preferred source on Google