When Notre Dame football had to say goodbye to former running backs coach Deland McCullough earlier this offseason, it was a very difficult loss. Coach McCullough was one of the very best position coaches in all of college football, but the Las Vegas Raiders presented an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Luckily for Irish fans, the staff acted quickly and found an extremely impressive replacement for McCullough. They were able to lure away Ja’Juan Seider, who was previously with Penn State, where he garnered a reputation as one of the best in the business. That’s from a coaching and recruiting perspective.

Coach Seider is going to be able to showcase just how big his impact can be on the recruiting trail. He walks into working with a really talented 2026 running back board, one that he will have a chance to make some tweaks of. There are two running backs that I would have my eyes closely on for Coach Seider based on his previous stop.

Messiah Mickens – Harrisburg (Pa.) High School

This is a name that is probably somewhat familiar to Notre Dame fans. Mickens received his offer very early from the Fighting Irish, even before committing to the Nittany Lions. So his mention is twofold. Obviously, there is interest from the Irish staff and Mickens has a preexisting relationship with Coach Seider.

It’s hard to see why both Coach Seider and Notre Dame are each so high on Mickens, who is a very talented runner. He is coming off of a season where he was named the Player of the Year in Pennsylvania. Can the relationship with Coach Seider be enough to help Mickens rethink Notre Dame? Time will tell.

Favour Akih – Delaware (Ohio) Rutherford B Hayes

Recruiting platforms are a bit all over the place on Akih, who is rated as high as the No. 76 overall player and No. 7 running back in the 2026 recruiting class according to On3. Both ESPN and Rivals see him as a four-star player as well, while 247Sports have him rated as just a three-star player. The trust typically lies in between the lowest and highest evaluation.

The 6-0, 190-pound runner doesn’t currently hold an offer from Notre Dame, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see that change. He was recruited heavily by Seider at Penn State, and the Nittany Lions were certainly high on his list. Akih is a very interesting player to keep tabs on.

Notre Dame football among the schools “sticking out most” for Top-100 Midwest star, and set to return for another visit

Notre Dame football trending quickly for Midwest star.