Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington has felt the heat from Irish fans over the last couple of seasons, and most of the criticisms have centered around his recruiting efforts. So far in the 2026 recruiting class, Coach Washington is probing those doubters wrong. He has received commitments from Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade recently, two extremely talented pass rushers out of the state of North Carolina. Defensive end recruiting has been stellar in this class.

In reality, defensive end recruiting has mostly been very good under Washington. With players like Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young already in that room, the present and future is very bright for the Fighting Irish. The main question mark that still needs to be answered is defensive tackle recruiting efforts, which hasn’t been up to par so far. The 2026 class has been a mixed bag so far, and answers are needed. 

Notre Dame is expecting some good news on May 10th when Bastrop (Texas) High School defensive tackle Tiki Hola is selecting between the Fighting Irish, USC, and SMU. The very latest has Notre Dame as the favorite for the 6-2, 285-pound interior defender. After Hola, the program is still interested in adding at least one more true interior player. The board isn’t overly optimistic right now, and the team just expanded the board recently, which is telling. 

The Irish staff will continue to pursue players like Khary Wilder, Noah Clark, and Elijah Golden but as of now, neither is viewed as a Notre Dame lean. The team fading with Golden is especially disappointing. The Irish were very early on him, and were the assumed leader early. As more teams have gotten involved, Alabama especially, it has appeared less and less likely. Notre Dame will continue to battle, but they must also begin focusing on some other options. 

That led us to Notre Dame expanding the board this past week. Here are the two new names to know. 

Alister Vallejo – Liberty Hill (Texas) High School

The 6-4, 295-pound defender is an extremely interesting player. He has not been rated by any of the major recruiting platforms, but the production is good, and the offer list is beginning to expand. Some other programs that have offered him include Michigan, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Kansas, SMU, Houston, Memphis, Oregon State, and Sacramento State. It’s unclear where things go between Notre Dame and Vallejo, but he is an extremely interesting offer to monitor. 

David Schwerzel – Seattle (Wash.) O’Dea

At about 6-4 and 255 pounds, Schwerzel looks like a recruit who is cut from the same clothe as Golden. While he plays defensive end on the high school level, he projects best inside on the college level. Schools like Stanford, UCLA, Michigan State, Washington, and Cal are viewed as the front runners for Schwerzel right now. Whether Notre Dame can get him to visit will tell the story. 

The USC Trojans trending quickly for former Notre Dame defender to reunite with general manager Chad Bowden

USC is hot on the trail for former Notre Dame defender