What a commitment from elite RB Javian Osborne would mean for Notre Dame football and Ja'Juan Seider
The Notre Dame football staff is hoping for some great news on Saturday, May 3rd when 2026 Forney (Texas) High School running back Javian Osborne makes his college decision. The Texas star will be selecting between the Fighting Irish and Michigan Wolverines on the 247Sports YouTube channel. This would be huge potentially for Notre Dame […]
The Notre Dame football staff is hoping for some great news on Saturday, May 3rd when 2026 Forney (Texas) High School running back Javian Osborne makes his college decision. The Texas star will be selecting between the Fighting Irish and Michigan Wolverines on the 247Sports YouTube channel. This would be huge potentially for Notre Dame for several reasons, and it starts with the obvious, him being an outstanding football player.
Osborne is considered to be a top-100 overall recruit by multiple major recruiting platforms, currently sitting as the No. 90 overall player, No. 6 running back, and No. 12 player in the state of Texas in the 2026 recruiting class on the 247Sports Composite ranking. Being that highly regarded in the state of Texas speaks volumes to the caliber of player that Osborne is.
The 5-10, 195-pound runner has been outstanding for Forney during the course of his career so far. As a junior, Osborne rushed for 1,227 yards and scored 25 total touchdowns. Osborne also averaged over 6.5 yards per carry in a strong classification of high school football. When you pop on his film, you are going to see an explosive athlete who has tremendous vision and natural instincts as a runner. There is a reason that other schools such as Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Tennessee among many others.
It is also huge for one simple reason, pettiness. Even with the Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry slowly dying, it is also nice to beat the Wolverines for a top recruit. If Osborne does pick up the Notre Dame hat on Saturday, you would be lying to say it isn't all the sweeter with the Wolverine one still on the table. Beating them for a top-100 playmaker out of the state of Texas is just the icing on the cake.
The last, but arguably the most important thing about this potential commitment, is the statement from Ja'Juan Seider. When he came over from Penn State to take over for Deland McCullough as the team's running back coach, there were obviously some big shoes to fill. Notre Dame also wasn't the perceived leader for Osborne when Seider took over, and things changed quickly.
As this Fighting Irish staff tries to lockdown two running backs in the 2026 recruiting class, it can't be understated how big Osborne would be. Notre Dame is viewed as the leader going into the decision. Fingers crossed they receive their good news this weekend.
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