As the Notre Dame football team starts to turn its full attention to the 2028 class, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge has zeroed in on Zylen Little.
The defensive tackle from the Sunshine State visited South Bend last month and had some interesting conversations with Partridge. According to the rising prospect, Partridge told him that he has some serious plans brewing for the 6-foot-2, 290-pound 4-star defensive lineman from Carrollwood Day School (Tampa, FL).
“He just told me, ‘Man, we could do a lot of serious damage together if you come here,'" Little reportedly told Rivals' analyst Kyle Kelly. That very simple message seems to have resonated with the 2028 target who looks like he's giving Notre Dame some serious consideration.
Granted, there's still a lot of work to do to secure Little. He's ranked as the No. 155 player in the 2028 class, the No. 15 player at his position, and the No. 20 player in the state of Florida according to Rivals Industry Rankings. Unsurprising then that there have been a ton of programs vying for his attention.
Notre Dame DL coach Charlie Partridge has huge plans for 2028 four-star DL Zylen Little after his visit last month ☘️👀
— Kyle Kelly (@ByKyleKelly) July 2, 2026
“He just told me, ‘Man, we could do a lot of serious damage together if you come here.’”
Full story: https://t.co/hmxFzafRyD pic.twitter.com/aLlvjlaaZU
Zylen Little says Notre Dame football’s Charlie Partridge has big plans
In addition to Notre Dame, Little has offers from Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburgh, SMU, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, among others.
Among the schools that could be key rivals to the Irish is Auburn. He took a visit to War Eagle this spring and came away very impressed with what he saw under new head coach Alex Golesh.
“What stood out to me about this visit was getting to pick the brains of the coaches in depth,” Little told Auburn On SI. “I got to meet all of the coaches, the D-line coach, Coach Vontrell (King-Williams). I got to see Coach (Alex) Golesh, chop it up with him. So just seeing the mindset, seeing how I could fit, was something that really stood out to me.”
The Indiana Hoosiers are also in the running after he visited there in April. Notre Dame would love to avoid a recruiting battle that goes head-to-head with Curt Cignetti, even though they've gotten the best of him whenever they've faced off so far.
It's not a surprise that Zylen Little has plenty of interest. He's been an impact defensive lineman since his first year in high school.
Little finished his 2025 sophomore season at Carrollwood Day with 61 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, one pass breakup and 3 forced fumbles in 13 games. His 2024 freshman season saw him make 29 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery.
Having already completed one unofficial visit to South Bend, Notre Dame's goal now will be to get him back in town several more times over the next few months. For now, it looks like Charlie Partridge's plans for him have struck a chord.
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