Notre Dame football and HC Marcus Freeman are once again targeting the son of a former NFL player with incredible upside
Notre Dame is back to their old and new recruiting tactics with their latest offer news.
Notre Dame football under head coach Marcus Freeman has made it an initiative to prioritize the sons of former NFL players on the recruiting side. Over the last three recruiting classes, the Fighting Irish have signed Kennedy Urlacher, Bryce Young, Anthony Sacca, James Flanigan, Elijah Burress, Jerome Bettis Jr., Thomas Davis Jr., Devin Fitzgerald, and Kaydon Finley. Those last names should ring a lot of bells for the NFL fans out there.
For those who want to keep feeling old for a second, Freeman and Co. are once again coming after another former NFL player’s son. Earlier this week, Notre Dame extended an offer to 2027 Collierville (Tenn.) High School athlete Erik Walden Jr., a player the Irish offered as a wide receiver. His father, of the same name, played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, and Kansas City Chiefs.
On paper, prioritizing good DNA sounds like a smart tactic from the Notre Dame staff. The results haven’t quite come yet, but that could change going into the 2026 college football season. Whether Walden becomes the next example of that recruiting ideology remains to be seen. There is interest for him to get up to South Bend to check out the campus, and if that happens, we will get a better picture of how much that potential fit makes sense or not.
Erik Walden Jr.’s recruiting background
Walden is considered to be a four-star player or a three-star, depending on what major recruiting platform you look at. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Walden currently ranks as a four-star, the No. 245 overall player, the No. 11 athlete, and the No. 10 player from the state of Tennessee for the 2027 recruiting class. The Tennessee native is rated highest by Rivals, currently pegged as the No. 87 overall player and the No. 18 wide receiver in the country.
Despite that inconsistency from a rankings perspective, Walden has been courted by some big-time programs so far. Some of his top offers currently include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Clemson, Auburn, Indiana, Florida State, Missouri, Louisville, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Maryland, and Purdue, among others.
As a junior, Walden put together a tremendous season for Collierville. In 13 games, the 6-2, 170-pound pass catcher managed to haul in 42 receptions for 912 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was also a standout on defense, collecting 28 total tackles, five interceptions, and 17 pass breakups, while scoring four more scores on special teams. This is an all-around athlete who excels with the football in his hands.
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