Notre Dame football making strides with 2026 running back recruit Javian Mallory

While the Notre Dame football team is trying to make sure and lock down some of its top members of the 2025 class, the Irish are also working quite hard to lock in members of the 2026 cycle. Especially at the running back position.

Javian Mallory is one such player the Fighting Irish are trying to lock down. First, they need to get him to South Bend for a visit. The good news is that they’ve made some real progress in doing just that. 

Notre Dame football making strides for top RB target

Originally offered during the Pot of Gold event, Mallory has done nothing but said great things about the Notre Dame football program. With college coaches now being able to contact the 2026 recruits directly, things are going to heat up quickly.

Mallory will get a ton of attention. As that unfolds, he recently talked to Irish Breakdown about how his recruiting has been going.

“Recruiting has been crazy since June 15. My phone has been non-stop blowing up. I’m blessed to be in the position though. I’m not taking any of this for granted. I'm starting to take more control of my recruiting though since coaches can reach out now.”

“I’m trying to get up there on July 25th,” Mallory added. “It’s a trip I’ve been looking forward to making.”

The importance of an official visit can’t be overstated. The 4-star running back out of West Boca Raton has an amazing 39 offers so far. In addition to the Irish he’s sporting interest from top programs such as Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, and USC just to name a few.

At the moment, the Hurricanes and Florida Gators are considered the front runners by On3. However, Notre Dame football has had some recent success in Florida with 2026 recruiting. Most notably, the commitment of Noah Grubbs. It’s possible that commitment could be a big one for Mallory as his recruitment moved forward.