The Notre Dame football program is riding some insane recruiting momentum recently. On Friday, the team received a somewhat surprise commitment from 2026 Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier linebacker Jakobe Clapper, at least from a timing perspective. Things got even better on Saturday when they landed another commitment from elite Forney (Texas) High School running back Javian Osborne. Head coach Marcus Freeman is putting together arguably his finest recruiting class during his tenure. 

The best part of this momentum for the Fighting Irish, things aren’t slowing down anytime soon. Here are my predictions for the next five commitments in the 2026 class for Notre Dame. It’s an extremely impressive group of players. 

DT Tiki Hola – Bastrop (Texas) High School 

Hola is set to make his college decision on May 10th, picking between Notre Dame, USC, and SMU. The Fighting Irish are viewed as the leader heading into that decision, with the Mustangs actually running second. At 6-2 and 285 pounds, Hola has the frame to eventually develop into a stellar performance from the nose tackle position. He’ll be over 300 pounds in a very short time, and is tremendous against the run, but won’t offer a ton of upside as a pass rusher. 

TE Evan Jacobson – Waukee (Iowa) High School

At 6-7 and 220 pounds, Jacobson has the frame to grow into a true inline threat long term. His game is eerily similar to former Notre Dame star Kyle Rudolph, bringing that long frame, strong catch radius, while being an extremely smooth athlete. The Irish have made a huge move with Jacobson over the last several weeks, and appear to be the team to beat. 

S Nick Reddish – Charlotte (N.C.) Independence

Reddish put together a tremendous sophomore season, but was injured the majority of his junior year. Now back healthy, Notre Dame is pushing for Reddish in a big way. The 5-11, 185-pound defender can do a lot for a defense. Mike Mickens and the Irish staff values everything that Reddish brings as a football player, and person. Don’t be shocked if they finish this one out quickly. 

CB Joey O’Brien – Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College 

The O’Brien recruitment has been extremely interesting. Notre Dame was the leader early, and one of the few teams that valued the talented defender as early as they did. Things got slightly blurred as some other top programs got into the fold, but the Irish and Penn State sit firmly at the top. I like Notre Dame’s chances to close on the dynamic 6-4 athlete. 

EDGEMcHale Blade – Chicago (Ill.) Simeon 

Notre Dame got on blade very, very early in the process. The Fighting Irish were the perceived leaders for a long time, but some other top programs have gotten involved. The 6-4, 245-pound defensive end doesn’t have a commitment date set, but I still like where Notre Dame sits. It’s all about closing the deal now. 

Predicting the next 5 Notre Dame commitments following the Fighting Irish landing underrated defender Jakobe Clapper

Let’s make some predictions.