While the Notre Dame football team celebrates the Fourth of July, the coaching staff also knows that it could add several high-level targets to its recruiting class. One of those, coming at the end of the month, could be one heck of a cherry on the top of the 2026 recruiting class sundae. Yet another recruiting analyst believes the Fighting Irish are poised to land defensive lineman Elijah Golden when he announces his commitment on July 26.
Golden, a 4-star lineman out of Cardinal Mooney in Virginia, has some of the best teams in the country trying their best to snag him. Despite squads like Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, Miami, and Oklahoma doing their best to land him, Notre Dame continues to be the front runner.
On Friday, Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia, Jr., put in an official prediction for Elijah Golden to choose the Notre Dame football team when he announces his commitment. Should that come to pass, it would be massive for a couple of different reasons.
Notre Dame football favored to land 4-star DL Elijah Golden on July 26
One of the biggest reasons why Golden's pledge would stick out is that despite one heck of a recruiting heater, Marcus Freeman and company have lost a little of their momentum compared to other top-ranked programs. USC and Georgia, in particular, have continued to surge in the rankings.
While that sort of thing is far from the end-all and be-all, it is something that continues to be important. Other recruits notice how a school is performing. It can be a tipping point. Especially when it's a big name like Golden.
Garcia's prediction is the latest in a small flood of analysts who have all decided that the defensive lineman was almost certainly committing to the Notre Dame football team. Now, it's all about the waiting. Though Marcus Freeman and his gang won't have to wait all that long for the next recruiting win.