Notre Dame running back commit Isaiah Rogers is one of the best prospects in the 2027 class. He proved that earlier this month when he was one of 120 high schoolers who attended Nike's The Opening Finals. In the process, he spent time with some of the other best players in his class, as well as NFL stars, which has put the talented back in a position to take the next step in his career.
"It meant a lot being invited out of just 120 kids," Rogers told Irish Sports Daily. "It meant a lot to me just going there and taking advantage of the opportunity."
"It went great," the Notre Dame commit added. "I like to call it football heaven. Those three days I got to meet a lot of new people that I've never met before in my region, meet a lot of athletes that I look up to, and just compete against the best high school kids in the country. It was a great experience. It was fun.”
The Springfield Central standout also had the opportunity to interact with several NFL players, including Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Ja'Marr Chase, Kyler Murray, Bryce Young and Tetairoa McMillan, among others.
Isaiah Rogers says Nike’s The Opening Finals helped prepare him for senior year
He loved meeting those legends, especially Barkley, who he said has long been one of his idols. However, the Notre Dame commit knows that this trip wasn’t just about hanging out with other players or meeting the guys he’s long looked up to. Rogers knows that the point of The Finals was to get pointers and find ways to improve as he enters his final year of high school and eventually heads to South Bend.
"Coming from that event, you're competing with the best guys in the country. So coming back home and applying what I learned and that game speed back at home, I should really be able to dominate this coming-up season."
The 5-foot-11, 205-pound 4-star running back from Springfield Central High School (Springfield, MA) already dominated plenty so far. He finished his 2025 junior season with 126 carries for 986 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also catching 37 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns.
The Notre Dame commit was already poised for a big season as he gets ready to sign with the Fighting Irish. Now he’s getting even more pointers that will help him supercharge his senior season. With such a talented player on the board, it will certainly be interesting to see what he does in his final high school season before signing with the Fighting Irish.
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