Things never stop moving for the Notre Dame football team this time of year. Five days ago, the Irish finished their regular season with a blowout win over Stanford. Last night, they found out their College Football Playoff Hopes are hanging by a thread. And Wednesday morning, the Irish finished up one of the best recruiting classes in a generation with 27 signees who were all in the boat before most people had finished eating breakfast.
The Irish were poised to have one of the best recruiting classes in the country for months. And on Wednesday, they made it official with the No. 2 class according to Rivals.
Notre Dame finishes behind only bitter rival USC, which finished at No. 1 in part because it signed a ton of great players and in part because it brought in a whopping 34 recruits. The Irish also pulled off something that no other P4 team in the country managed. Once Marcus Freeman and his staff secured a pledge, no commit backed out of their promise.
There were no decommits. That stands out as it also happens to be the second straight year where there wasn't any drama on signing day. That's a big deal because it's allowed coaches to focus on the 2027 class right away, as opposed to having to lock down already committed prospects.
Notre Dame's 2026 recruiting class stands out
- 5-star EDGE Rodney Dunham (NC)
- 5-star CB Khary Adams (MD)
- 5-star TE Ian Premer (KS)
- 5-star S Joey O'Brien (PA)
- 4-star S Ayden Pouncey (FL)
- 4-star EDGE Ebenezer Ewetade (NC)
- 4-star OT Grayson McKeogh (PA)
- 4-star RB Jonaz Walton (GA)
- 4-star RB Javian Osborne (TX)
- 4-star WR Kaydon Finley (TX)
- 4-star DL Elijah Golden (FL)
- 4-star IOL Gregory Patrick (MI)
- 4-star IOL Ben Nichols (MI)
- 4-star IOL Tyler Merrill (PA)
- 4-star WR Bubba Frazier (GA)
- 4-star CB Chaston Smith (TN)
- 4-star LB Thomas Davis Jr. (NC)
- 4-star WR Devin Fitzgerald (AZ)
- 4-star WR Brayden Robinson (TX)
- 3-star QB Noah Grubbs (FL)
- 3-star DL Tiki Hola (TX)
- 3-star TE Preston Fryzel (OH)
- 3-star OT Charlie Thom (CT)
- 3-star LB Kobe Clapper (OH)
- 3-star IOL Sullivan Garvin (MI)
- 3-star S Nick Reddish (NC)
- 3-star WR Dylan Faison (FL)
In all, Notre Dame signed 27 players and is now turning its attention to the transfer portal and the 2027 class.