Marcus Freeman turned his attention to recruiting at Notre Dame quickly after the Irish were snubbed from the College Football Playoff, and it makes all the sense in the world. Freeman is working to make sure nothing like that happens again, and the first step is getting great talent in the building to build a great team.
The latest recruit Freeman has set his sights on is four-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou, who was already leaning pretty heavily towards Notre Dame. However, there is another team that is officially making this move on the star defender.
Ohio State is making a strong move for 4-star defensive lineman Marcus Fakatou
Ryan Day and Ohio State hosted Fakatou in Columbus this past weekend and made quite the impression on the four-star recruit. Fakatou enjoyed the visit so much that he is putting the Buckeyes up there with the Irish in his recruitment.
Ohio State made a major impression on elite DL Marcus Fakatou during his visit, @adamgorney reports🌰
— Rivals (@Rivals) March 11, 2026
“Ohio State set the bar high.”
Intel: https://t.co/NzovL2n9Ya pic.twitter.com/4F7iEoDdCx
Fakatou said that the Buckeyes set the bar fairly high and loved what the Ohio State had to offer him and his family. This was Fakatou's first visit of the year, so there is a lot more to come for the defensive lineman, but it seems like everyone could be chasing the Buckeyes.
With Ohio State setting the bar so high, everyone else will now have to work even harder to make an impression on Fakatou, including Notre Dame. Now, Notre Dame is not the only school in the mix. While the Irish were leading for Fakatou, Georgia is the next visit for the four-star recruit, and Oregon, Texas, and Michigan are also among the schools after him.
Fakatou could have made a commitment to Ohio State after this visit, but knowing there is more to come, Notre Dame is the other school teams are looking to beat.