On Monday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scored two commitments in the span of 10 minutes. On Tuesday, they lost out on Tyler Alexander, one of their top defensive line targets, to Texas. Such is the way of recruiting in the Wild West of 2026. There are always ups and always downs, always wins and always losses, and both usually come in bunches.
The commitment to the Longhorns is hardly a shock, considering the 3-star defensive tackle took a visit to Austin this past weekend. He chose Steve Sarkisian’s squad over the Irish, Colorado, and Georgia. In the process, he severely limited where Marcus Freeman and Co. might get another defensive tackle commit in this class, assuming they do so.
The 6-foot-3 1/2, 315-pounder took official visits to all four programs before making his decision on Texas and was at Notre Dame just a few weeks ago. Perhaps it should have been a sign that the Florida Dame target wasn’t quite as effusive as other visitors, including the other DT target, Brayden Parks, from that weekend. The South Florida prospect has clearly liked what he’s seen from the Longhorns for a while now, and it’s likely Texas was the team to beat heading into these final visits, as demonstrated by their getting his final OV.
Alexander’s connection with UT defensive line coach Kenny Baker was a big reason why the player chose Texas: “It was basically everything I was comfortable with in the scheme,” Alexander said on Sunday. “You can tell he’s very into D-line. He’s very passionate about it.”
Tyler Alexander commitment to Texas leaves Notre Dame football searching at defensive tackle
The DT target also spent time with Steve Sarkisian, Jamarion Carlton, and James Johnson. He added that he thought his time with all of the coaches he met with was also important. On his time with Sarkisian, Alexander said the message was “we’ve got a lot of people committed right now. Just join in and be a part of the class.” Now that he’s done so, Alexander joins a class ranked No. 8 in the nation before his addition.
In the Rivals Industry Ranking, Alexander is a 4-star 2027 defensive lineman from Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington, Florida, and is ranked No. 372 nationally, No. 40 at defensive line, and No. 34 in Florida.
While he might not be ranked as the highest player on the board, it’s clear he’s made an impression. In addition to Notre Dame and Texas, Alexander has offers from Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Texas A&M, among many others. In his 2025 junior season at Palm Beach Central, he tallied 46 total tackles, 17 solo tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 21 QB hurries.
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