Elite Notre Dame commit using the aftermath of the James Franklin news to lure a couple familiar names to the Fighting Irish class
Notre Dame football could be targeting several Penn State recruits following the exit of HC James Franklin.
The Penn State Nittany Lions made the decision to move on from head coach James Franklin recently, and that move has led to some unfortunate recruiting aftermath. We have already seen recruits in both the 2026 and 2027 classes reopen their recruitments, and things are appearing bleak for the folks up in Happy Valley. More movement is sure to follow, which is unfortunate.
With how well Notre Dame is recruiting under head coach Marcus Freeman in recent years, the Fighting Irish don’t necessarily need a ton of help on the recruiting trail, having already beaten the Nittany Lions for multiple recruits in the 2026 cycle alone. Elite 2026 Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College athlete Joey O’Brien is already using that Franklin news, however, to try and help the Notre Dame program.
In a tweet he put out this week, O’Brien is targeting a couple of very familiar targets. He is hoping to lure them to South Bend.
The first target should be a very familiar one for Notre Dame fans. 2027 McKeesport (Pa.) High School running back Kemon Spell, who is set to visit South Bend this weekend for their matchup against the USC Trojans. The 5-9, 205-pound runner is currently rated as a five-star and the No. 8 overall player in the 2027 recruiting class according to the 247 Sports Composite ranking.
The other player that O’Brien reached out to was 2026 McDonald (Pa.) Fort Cherry safety Matt Sieg, who is still committed to Penn State. Rated as the No. 79 overall player in the class according to 247 Sports, Sieg hasn’t been a player discussed much by Irish fans. The 5-11, 190-pound defensive back has been committed to the Nittany Lions for a long time, and Notre Dame also has a very deep secondary class already. It will be interesting to see if they do pursue Sieg.
Out of the two players, things are trending extremely well between the Irish and Spell. Having a player the caliber of O’Brien recruiting hard for Notre Dame won’t hurt. He’s an elite player, and typically, other elite players want to play with these types of talents.
Pillar of the Notre Dame 2026 class
O’Brien is rated as a five-star, the No. 30 overall player, the No. 4 safety, and the No. 1 player in the state of Pennsylvania in the 2026 class according to the 247Sports ranking. Some see O’Brien as a safety, and on offense at wide receiver, while Notre Dame valued him at the cornerback position early on in the process. At 6-4 and 190 pounds, he is a tremendous athlete who brings a lot of upside and versatility to the table, both on offense and defense.
Notre Dame was able to win out against an extremely long list of impressive suitors once upon a time. Some of the top schools that had offered him include Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Penn State, Nebraska, Miami, Florida State, Michigan State, Missouri, Syracuse, West Virginia, Stanford, Boston College, UCLA, Duke, Indiana, and Illinois among many others.
As a junior in 2024, O’Brien put together a fantastic season for La Salle College. On defense, he collected 36 total tackles, one interception, and 13 pass breakups. O’Brien was even better on offense, where he hauled in 68 receptions for 1,029 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also threw a touchdown just to show off his overall level of talent.
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