Notre Dame makes “major move” with four-star SEC commit that could fill huge need for the Irish
Notre Dame football dominated the Florida State Seminoles 52 to 3 on Saturday. The team was a far way away from Tallahassee, and so was 2025 Tallahassee (Fla.) James Rickards defensive end Jalen Wiggins, who is currently committed to the Florida Gators. This was Wiggins’ first visit to South Bend, and the talented pass rusher […]
Notre Dame football dominated the Florida State Seminoles 52 to 3 on Saturday. The team was a far way away from Tallahassee, and so was 2025 Tallahassee (Fla.) James Rickards defensive end Jalen Wiggins, who is currently committed to the Florida Gators. This was Wiggins’ first visit to South Bend, and the talented pass rusher left the visit with a high opinion of the Irish.
According to a source close to the Notre Dame side, it’s believed that the Irish staff made a “major move” with Wiggins this weekend. The 6-5, 255-pound defender has been committed to the Gators since January, but he has been open to other schools over the last couple of months.
It’s important to consider the types of schools that Wiggins is interested in. Other than Notre Dame, the other school of heavy interest is Stanford. There is clearly an attention to long term payback and academics in this instance. That should give some hope for the Irish chances.
After this weekend, it feels highly likely that a move from the Florida Gators is very much in play leading up to signing day next month. If Notre Dame continues the momentum they built this weekend, they could very well make this flip happen down the stretch.
Wiggins is considered a consensus four-star recruit by every major recruiting platform out there. Both ESPN and On3 have him ranked as a top-100 player, currently sitting at No. 95 and No. 68 respectively. ESPN also has him rated as the No. 9 player in Florida, a state that has an argument as the top producer of talent in the country.
In nine games as a senior, Wiggins has been tremendous for Rickards. He has recorded 86 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and another 14 sacks for the team. Wiggins has also posted nine more quarterback hurries, broken up an additional seven passes, and recovered a pair of fumbles.
This is the type of pass rusher that Notre Dame needs to attract more of. Getting a player like Wiggins to flip from a school like Florida can’t be understated. Wiggins has been pursued by a long list of prominent programs such as Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, USC, Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas and Penn State among many others.
