The Notre Dame football team has put together what appears to be one of its best recruiting classes in years for the 2026 cycle. In fact, it could be one of the best classes the Fighting Irish have ever seen.
Each summer, player rankings from various recruiting outlets are updated based on player performance, growth, and other factors. Those rankings updates from recruiting services almost always come with ups and downs for individual schools. It's part of the business that if recruits move up in the rankings, some have to move down. This summer, things are different now that two of the giants in the recruiting business have combined.
Notre Dame football recruiting class rises to No. 3 in Rivals Industry rankings
When On3 purchased Rivals and that deal became official on July 1, it altered how both organizations handle rankings. The new rankings, the Rivals Industry Rankings, take into account Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN. This latest ranking saw a slight shift in team rankings, as well as player rankings, and boosted the Notre Dame football program into third in the country.
It's impressive enough that the Fighting Irish are behind only USC and Georgia. What makes it that much better is that the Blue and Gold, should they finish that high with the average ratings they have, would be the best since the "internet age." In other words, it would be the best class since recruiting services began tracking this information back in 2004.
In the grand scheme of things, Marcus Freeman and company still need to prove that what they're doing will work on the field. But for word of mouth, and in regards to restocking, the Notre Dame football program is on the kind of run it hasn't seen in decades.