One of the most interesting aspects of Notre Dame football recruiting over the last decade is how the top pipeline states aren’t locked into the region where the Fighting Irish call home. In fact, while most schools consider their home state their most dependable feeder system, the Golden Domers have mostly ignored Indiana.
In fact, the states where the Irish have established their best pipelines over the last 10 years haven’t even bordered the state. To compete with the best programs in the country, Notre Dame has routinely gone pretty far away to land its commits.
So, which states are the best of the best? The states where Notre Dame football has established a real foothold and pipeline? The answer for the team that is the biggest and best pipeline might surprise even the most devoted fans.
1. Florida Dame isn’t a 2027 invention for the Notre Dame football team
In the 2027 recruiting class, several Irish commits talked about “Florida Dame” being a slogan that helped the Irish bring in some of the best Florida players in the country. However, from 2016 to 2026, the Sunshine State was already a big feeder area.
The Fighting Irish pulled in 24 commitments from Florida over the decade. Of course, it wasn’t all that consistent. In 2016, ND got a whopping eight commitments, or a full third of their total for the 10-year period. Still, they pulled in four in 2026, so it was hardly a one-time deal. Of the 24 commitments, nearly half (10) were blue-chip (4- or 5-star) recruits.
2. California brings the most talent to Notre Dame
California has been one of the most consistent pipelines in the country and earns the No. 2 spot in these rankings, but just barely. From 2016 to 2026, Notre Dame pulled in 23 commitments from the left coast. Of those, they secured 16 blue-chip prospects. The Irish have also had more success of late, including four in the 2021 class.
It says something that the top two states for Notre Dame football recruiting pipes are on opposite sides of the country. At the very least, it shows that plenty of Fighting Irish coaches have realized they need to pull in from all over the map rather than stay close to home to succeed.
3. Notre Dame loves the Peach State
Further demonstrating that the Irish tend to have to travel to set up productive pipelines, Georgia ranks third on the list of the country's best recruiting hubs for the Golden Domers. From the 2016 to 2026 classes, the Irish hauled in 18 commits.
Pulling recruits from the backyard of the Georgia Bulldogs is a relatively recent thing. Seven of those 18 came in two classes: four in 2021, three in 2026. It seems there’s been so much talent coming out of Georgia that schools from all over the country want a piece.
4. Texas turns the tide for Notre Dame recruiting
Texas slides into the top pipelines for Notre Dame because of the quality of the commits the Irish get from the Lone Star State. Illinois (18) and Ohio (16) provided more commitments over the 10-year period in discussion.
However, of the 15 commitments going from Texas to South Bend, a whopping 11 were blue-chip players. That ratio is better than ever other state could hope to offer Notre Dame when it comes to talents coming to town.
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