Notre Dame football making a late surge for Top 100 SEC defensive commit, hosting for OV against Florida State
Typically this time of the year, Notre Dame football has their recruiting class solidified, and are trying to do their best to hold onto everyone. For the 2025 recruiting class, things have been much different. This Irish staff is going big game hunting down the stretch, and attempting to flip several talented players. One player […]
Typically this time of the year, Notre Dame football has their recruiting class solidified, and are trying to do their best to hold onto everyone. For the 2025 recruiting class, things have been much different. This Irish staff is going big game hunting down the stretch, and attempting to flip several talented players.
One player who Notre Dame fans need to keep a close eye on is Tallahassee (Fla.) James Rickards defensive end Jalen Wiggins, who is officially visiting South Bend this weekend for their matchup against Florida State. The 6-5, 235-pound pass rusher is currently committed to the Florida Gators, but is clearly not settled in his commitment.
Wiggins is considered a consensus four-star recruit by every major recruiting platform. Both On3 and ESPN have him ranked as a top-100 player, currently sitting at No. 95 and No. 68 respectively. ESPN also has him rated as the No. 9 player in Florida, a state that is known as one of the top states in terms of producing talent.
In nine games as a senior, Wiggins has been tremendous for James Rickards. He has recorded 86 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and 14 sacks for the team. Wiggins has also recorded nine more quarterback hurries, broken up seven passes, and recovered a pair of fumbles.
This is the type of pass rusher that Notre Dame needs to attract more of. Getting a player like Wiggins to flip from a school like Florida can’t be understated. Wiggins has been pursued by a long list of prominent programs such as Georgia, LSU, Florida State, Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, USC, Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Penn State among many others.
It’s unclear how likely making a flip happens is. We will know more about just how high Wiggins is on Notre Dame after this weekend.
