Regarding the Notre Dame football team, it’s an all-hands-on-deck situation when it comes to landing 4-star running back prospect Messiah Mickens. While new running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider is going to be the main point of contact, other coaches and even at least one top commit are going to try and convince the Pennsylvania prospect to switch his allegiances.
One of those top Irish commits putting in work to convince Mickens to come to South Bend is one of the first guys to commit to the Blue and Gold in 2025. He’s also someone who’s going to be clearing the road for Mickens if they end up teammates.
Monster offensive lineman Tyler Merrill has made it very clear that he will work to bring Mickens to the Notre Dame football team. And he has been in on things since there were only slight nods that Messiah Mickens might be looking elsewhere besides Penn State.
☘️☘️ yk what time it is https://t.co/sdsSJkpZcB
— Tyler Merrill (@BigOak2026) February 11, 2025
Notre Dame football commit working on top flip target
Merrill seized on the opportunity last week when the rumors of Seider going to the Irish first started. Mickens tweeted out that he and Seider were connected. Then Merrill quote tweeted that post with a simple message, “yk what time it is.”
It’s safe to say that Merrill, who is also a 4-star prospect out of Pennsylvania, has been working on Messiah Mickens since then. The running back has said that he’ll give the Notre Dame football team a look. Now, it’s all about closing the deal.
There’s still plenty of time between now and signing day. That means there’s less pressure to get the flip done right away. At the same time, the longer Mickens stays committed to Penn State, the harder it will be to change things.
Merrill and his new classmates with Notre Dame football are part of the all-hands-on-deck approach the Irish are taking with one of the best backs in the 2026 class.