Notre Dame football has recruited and developed the running back position as well as just about anybody in college football in recent years.

Former running back coach Deland McCullough started the trend before leaving for the Oklahoma Sooners, and Ja’Juan Seider has continued it over the last two cycles. The unit has gone from good to very good to now an elite overall room, and there is a ton of talent returning in 2026 that Notre Dame fans should be excited about.

There are also some intriguing early names in the 2028 recruiting class that the Fighting Irish are eyeing to add to an already strong group. Here are the early 2028 running backs to know for head coach Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame eyes another elite class.

Zaiden Jernigan – Louisville (Miss.) High School

Arguably Notre Dame’s biggest target at the position so far is Louisville (Miss.) High School running back Zaiden Jernigan. The 5-10½, 195-pound runner is rated as the No. 94 overall player according to 247 Sports and possesses an unbelievable amount of explosiveness and big-play ability. Jernigan visited South Bend this offseason, and the Fighting Irish have put themselves in a great spot early on.

Aceley Brown – Petal (Miss.) High School

The same can be said about Aceley Brown out of Petal, Mississippi. He’s a smaller back at 6-0 and 175 pounds, but he can make a ton of players miss in space. Brown also visited Notre Dame this offseason, impressed the staff in person, and has quickly become one of the priority running back targets to know for the Fighting Irish.

Xander Edwards – Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles School

Then there is the legacy recruit Xander Edwards out of Jacksonville, Florida, the son of former Notre Dame fullback Marc Edwards, who played for the team in the 1990s. Edwards is a bigger back at 6-1 and about 210 pounds, coming off a dominant year for the Bolles School, where he ran for well over 2,000 yards. He is an explosive downhill runner with a ton of power.

It has taken a while for Notre Dame to show Edwards some love, but the staff has started to uptick their position with him as they prioritize him more. He is set to come back to South Bend this offseason, and the next few months will determine whether Notre Dame can make up ground and pull a small upset over the University of Miami.

Other names to watch

Those three sit at the top of the list so far, but there are other players to keep a close eye on. One is Zachary Belyeu out of North Cobb in Kennesaw, Georgia. The 5-11, 210-pounder is close with 2026 Notre Dame quarterback signee Teddy Jarrard, which could help the Fighting Irish and play into their favor.

Notre Dame has also made a huge impact in the state of New Jersey recently and is recruiting Tahmere Brown out of the Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey. The 5-11, 188-pound runner is currently ranked as the 15th-best running back in the 2028 class.

Some other players to keep tabs on, although the Irish aren’t in as strong a spot so far: a couple of targets out of Texas include Jayshawn Mitchell out of San Antonio (Brennan) and Micah Rhodes out of Spring (Klein Oak). Both players have heard consistently from Notre Dame but have work to do going forward.

Elijah Cromwell out of Cherry Creek in Englewood, Colorado, has been offered, as has Jordan McNeil out of Thomas County Central in Thomasville, Georgia, and Auburndale (Fla.) High School running back Anthony Howard Jr.

This is a deep and talented group of running backs on the board right now. There is a perceived top group for the Fighting Irish, but as we have seen in the recruiting world, things can change in a hurry. These are the early names to know at the running back position for Notre Dame heading into the 2028 cycle.