While the attention is on the Michigan State Spartans coming to South Bend this weekend, Notre Dame football is also ready to host several top recruiting targets in the 2028 class.

Head coach Marcus Freeman and this Fighting Irish coaching and recruiting staff hopes to impress several of their top targets this fall, and one name in particular has generated significant buzz.

2028 four-star Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles School running back Xander Edwards has been a hot topic of conversation amongst the Fighting Irish fan base. His father, Marc Edwards, was a standout fullback for the Fighting Irish in the 1990s before going on to a long NFL career. For whatever reason, this Fighting Irish staff and running back coach Ja’Juan Seider did not prioritize Edwards early on, although they have been upping their game in that regard over the last couple of months.

I have been informed by a source on Edwards’ side that he will not be making the trip to check out Notre Dame versus Michigan State this weekend. He will not be doing any traveling, taking a weekend off from a busy recruiting visit schedule this fall.

He has already rescheduled his visit, and Edwards now plans to head to South Bend for the Nov. 7 matchup against the Miami Hurricanes.

Why the Miami game matters for Notre Dame’s push

That rescheduled date offers Freeman and this team a huge opportunity with Edwards.

While Notre Dame was not prioritizing him early, Miami became a team that quickly rose to the top of the list for the 6-foot-1, 210-pound runner. With a chance to impress in front of Edwards against one of the schools near the top of his list, along with programs like Florida, Ohio State, and Indiana, Notre Dame has a massive chance to rewrite the past and assert themselves in this recruitment.

The next several weeks will be huge for this Notre Dame program in making sure Edwards does eventually make that visit on Nov. 7.

Xander Edwards’ recruiting background

Edwards is an impressive overall player in terms of stats, recruiting rankings, and offer list. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, he currently sits as the No. 113 overall player, the No. 7 running back, and the No. 15 player from the state of Florida for the 2028 recruiting class. He has been ranked as a consensus four-star by each of the major recruiting platforms.

Edwards now holds upwards of nearly 40 total offers. That includes the Fighting Irish, Ohio State, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, Miami, Arkansas, Baylor, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, UNC, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin, SMU, and Wake Forest, among several others.

His recruitment shot up after a dynamite sophomore season for the Bolles School, where the talented runner proceeded to rush for 2,629 yards and 44 touchdowns on 265 carries, an average of nearly 10 yards per run. He also hauled in 17 receptions for 211 yards through the air.

So far through three games of the 2026 season, his junior year, Edwards leads the Bolles School again in rushing with 387 yards and two touchdowns. He has also upped his receiving game, already hauling in seven receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown.

This is one of the more physical and productive runners in the 2028 recruiting class, and Notre Dame is now making up for lost time. They have a huge opportunity in a few weeks to impress the talented runner, and they will need to use everything in their power to continue to impress and hopefully rise to the top.