The Notre Dame football team hosted several major recruits this weekend, and the visit appears to have gone very well. So well, in fact, that defensive lineman Brayden Parks received an official Crystal Ball prediction before the weekend ended.
On Saturday afternoon, 247Sports analyst Brian Dohn predicted the Fighting Irish would land the 4-star defender out of Brother Rice (Oak Lawn, IL). While Dohn entered a confidence level of six, that is still a fairly strong level of confidence, since more confident predictions are rare.
What Dohn’s prediction likely means is that Parks will eventually announce his commitment to Notre Dame, though it is unlikely he will accelerate his timeline and do so this weekend. Still, with Marcus Freeman and Co. fighting against the Oregon Ducks, among others, being firmly in the driver’s seat is a very big development.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound Chicago native is plenty sought after. He has dozens of offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, LSU, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC, among many others.
Brayden Parks Crystal Ball makes Notre Dame football the team to beat before Oregon visit
Brayden Parks is ranked No. 166 nationally, No. 18 at defensive line, and No. 9 in the state of Illinois for the 2027 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.
The big-bodied defensive tackle had a fantastic season for Brother Rice as a junior in 2025. In 13 games, Parks tallied 44 total tackles, 6 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks. Thanks to his build, Parks’ impact on the opponent is far more than just whatever stats he puts up. He’s also someone who routinely takes on double teams from the offensive line, freeing up teammates to do even more damage.
Considering he’s already got a monstrous frame, it stands to reason that when the top Notre Dame target gets to the next level, he’ll be able to do the same for his college squad.
With Parks visiting South Bend this weekend, alongside fellow defensive tackle Tyler Alexander, it’s clear the Irish are trying very hard to shore up their defensive front in one go. Earlier in the spring, there had been talk that Freeman and his staff would take one or the other. Instead, it certainly looks like they’ll take both if they can manage that. Hopefully, the excitement over the visit weekend will allow Parks and Alexander to essentially peer-recruit each other.
Notre Dame currently has the No. 4-ranked 2027 class according to both Rivals and 247Sports. With 18 commits, there’s plenty of room for more, though it’s clear that the Irish are starting to wrap things up.
At the moment, David Folorunsho is the only defensive tackle commit for the Irish. That’s just one reason why Freeman and his staff would like to get at least one more from this class, and will definitely, at this point, take two more.
For this weekend, it looks like Notre Dame has a better chance of hauling in Brayden Parks than Tyler Alexander, though that could obviously change as recruits sort out what they saw and did. Parks now turns his attention to a June 19 OV to Oregon. Whether he still takes that will be something very important to watch.
Add us as a preferred source on Google