Big Ten power steals offensive lineman away from Notre Dame football

Notre Dame football has been on a serious recruiting slide of late. The only thing more frustrating than that slide is the fact that it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why the program is taking so many losses right now.

The most highlighted place where the Irish are struggling is at wide receiver. However, it’s not the only position where things are going wrong. Most recently, Marcus Freeman and company lost the battle for one of their top offensive linemen prospects.

Notre Dame football is having to go back to the drawing board after losing a recruiting battle to Penn State. The Nittany Lions were able to grab Kevin Brown from Harrisburg, despite the fact that the Irish were thought to have started off strong after a Pot of Gold Day offer.

Notre Dame football loses recruiting showdown to Big Ten Power

One of the top 2026 offensive tackles, Pennsylvania’s Kevin Brown, was offered a scholarship by Notre Dame football at the middle of March. Since that time, it’s seemed as though they were making some progress staying front of mind.

The 6-foot, 5-inch and 270-pound star held offers from the major of powerhouse programs across the country, but this weekend made the short trip to Penn State. It appears the draw of staying close to home was too strong.

The nation’s No. 36 overall prospect and 5th ranked tackle according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings saw all he needed to see, and committed to the Nittany Lions shortly after his trip.

The recruiting loss is obviously frustrating. However, it was never a given that the Fighting Irish were able to pull away a Pennsylvania kid away from his home state power. It does hurt because Marcus Freeman and company need to shore up offensive line recruiting.

If there’s a bright side here, it’s that Notre Dame football has plenty of time to try and steal Kevin Brown away.