Notre Dame football misses out on a top-100 defender just ahead of his official visit to South Bend
Notre Dame was set to host a top-100 for an official visit. That trip is no longer happening after a commitment to a Big Ten program.
Notre Dame football is set for a busy month of June with the official visit season kicking off. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish are on the cusp of landing an elite 2027 recruiting class. One position with the most question marks right now is linebacker.
The target board for the Irish just got smaller on Wednesday when 2027 Mililani (Hawaii) High School linebacker Toa Satele made his commitment to the Oregon Ducks. Notre Dame was set to get an official visit from Satele on June 9-11, which would have been his first trip to South Bend. The Ducks managed to win out over the Fighting Irish, Texas, and Cal.
With Satele now off the board, all eyes need to be set on five-star linebacker target Kaden Henderson and Chicago native Roman Igwebuike. Notre Dame has a lot of work to do with both players, but there is optimism from their side that they can get it done, depending on how the next few weeks go. Landing at least one of the two is a necessity. If the Irish staff could somehow land both, then it would be an outstanding finish.
Notre Dame also holds a commitment from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy standout Amarri Irvin, but things have gotten a bit weird lately after Irvin took an official visit to Michigan State last weekend, his father’s alma mater. Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary must do his best to keep Irvin in this class. Then the next step is closing on the rest of the board down the stretch.
Toa Satele’s recruiting background
Satele is considered to be a four-star and a top-75 player by each of the major recruiting platforms right now. The 247 Sports Composite ranking has him pegged as the No. 63 overall player, the No. 4 linebacker, and the No. 1 player from the state of Hawaii for the 2027 recruiting class.
Just like his recruiting rankings, the offer list for Satele is extremely impressive. Some of his top offers currently include the Fighting Irish, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Penn State, Miami, USC, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, Washington, Arkansas, Arizona State, UCLA, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Arizona, BYU, SMU, Oregon State, UCF, Cal, and Washington State, among others.
As a junior in 2025, Satele put together a strong season for Mililani. The 6-3, 200-pound linebacker managed to collect 40 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks.