Notre Dame football has linebacker 'so hyped' over Pot of Gold Day offer

The Notre Dame football team has been very busy in the last few days, working on building up its 2026 class. Dozens of offers went out on Pot of Gold Day and those offers even returned a commit on Monday.

So far, it’s wait and watch for the myriad of other players that got themselves an official offer from the Fighting Irish. One player that bares watching closely is 2026 linebacker Maurice Barnes. 

The offer to Barnes on Sunday was just the next step in a relationship that the Notre Dame football team has been working on for the last few months. It appears the two sides have bonded and that the official offer is just the latest sign of that.

In a recent interview with Irish Breakdown, Barnes talked about the high opinion he has of Marcus Freeman and company. 

“My first impression on Notre Dame was it had a good football program and that would be a good fit for me,” Barnes told the site. “They are a great program with great people.”

“When I got offered I was so hyped,” Barnes continued. “I ran upstairs and told my mom and called my dad. Everyone was really excited.” The talented linebacker also seems to understand that there is something special about the timing of the offer.

“It was an honor to be a part of the Pot of Gold this year. I know everybody isn’t getting offered by Notre Dame and that is special.”

Notre Dame football stepping to the forefront for Maurice Barnes

While it’s still to early for most recruiting services to rate the 6-foot-1 linebacker out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, but it’s clear that plenty of coaches see something in him.

Maurice Barnes already has offers from Penn State, Virginia Tech, Colorado, West Virginia, and Duke in addition to the Notre Dame football program. This will be one linebacker to keep an eye on over the next few years.