Will Notre Dame stay in the race for Marcus Fakatou until he's due to make an official visit to South Bend later this month? At the moment, it looks as though Ohio State is running away with the recruitment of the monster defensive lineman out of Sierra Canyon, in California.
The Buckeyes seemed to make a serious impact, especially during his official visit to Columbus this past weekend. Ryan Day and his staff pulled out all the stops, including an impromptu celebration of Fakatou's arrival in town at the airport.
Even more bad news for Notre Dame regarding the 5-star defender: Fakatou reportedly told Rivals in March that he had nearly committed to Ohio State after visiting the Buckeyes earlier this spring. OSU was hoping that Fakatou would actually commit to the Buckeyes before he left campus. For now, there's been no official announcement, but that doesn't mean he didn't pull the trigger, and the announcement is coming in the next few days.
The monster 6-foot-7, 275-pound defensive lineman, likely won't get teams backing off him even if he does commit at some point this month. The Rivals Industry rankings have him No. 27 nationally, No. 2 at his position, and No. 3 in the state of California.
Five-star Sierra Canyon (California) DL Marcus Fakatou received the star treatment as he arrived in Columbus for his OV to Ohio State.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) May 29, 2026
It’s reminiscent of the welcome the Buckeyes gave five-star DL J.T. Tuimoloau during his OV in 2021. pic.twitter.com/OGKXI9BekQ
Marcus Fakatou has Notre Dame football trying to survive Ohio State’s recruiting surge
In addition to Notre Dame, Fakatou has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, BYU, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, SMU, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Utah, Virginia Tech and Washington.
In the 2025 season at Orange Lutheran, Fakatou totaled 69 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and a team-high 7 sacks in 12 games, according to MaxPreps. The 2027 prospect is clearly someone Notre Dame would love to add to a legendary defensive line that's been one of the team's strengths even before Chris Ash replaced Al Golden as defensive coordinator.
There was a time when the Fighting Irish were running away from the pack in their pursuit of getting Fakatou to commit. However, as the Buckeyes have turned up the heat, Matt Patricia and Day have really managed to make quite the impression. Earlier this spring, the Golden Domers received a couple of official predictions that they would eventually win his commitment. However, towards the end of last month, Steve Wiltfong put his official bullseye on Ohio State.
At the same time, Fakatou is still officially considering Georgia, Texas, Oregon, and Notre Dame as the official visit season kicks off. All of them are scheduled to host him over the next three weeks. If the Buckeyes didn't secure a pledge from the incredibly talented defender who could play EDGE or tackle, they’ll have to make a strong impression to ensure they remain in front for Fakatou.
Notre Dame does get the last official shot at Markus Fakatou, which would certainly work in their favor if he doesn't shut down his recruitment before he heads to South Bend in two weeks. With the number of commitments announced over the weekend, should Marcus Freeman and Co. stay alive after the frenzy, things could start looking up.
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