Marcus Freeman’s latest recruiting feat continues to rewrite Notre Dame expectations that the previous regime tried to hide from
It’s hard not to be excited about what Notre Dame football is doing under head coach Marcus Freeman. They are obviously coming off of 14 wins and a national title appearance last fall, but that feels like just the beginning of the overall success with Coach Freeman leading the way. A big part of the […]
It’s hard not to be excited about what Notre Dame football is doing under head coach Marcus Freeman. They are obviously coming off of 14 wins and a national title appearance last fall, but that feels like just the beginning of the overall success with Coach Freeman leading the way. A big part of the optimism should be related to the roster construction, development, and impact on the recruiting trail.
It was a massive Friday in terms of recruiting for the program, seeing the Fighting Irish land commitments from 2026 Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College athlete Joey O’Brien and Towson (Md.) Loyola Blakefield cornerback Khary Adams. People are especially excited about O’Brien, possessing the upside to potentially be a difference maker at safety, cornerback, or wide receiver.
The commitment of O’Brien wasn’t just huge for the obvious reason, talent, but it broke some new ground for the program. With the addition of the 6-4, 190-pound athlete, Notre Dame now holds two five-star commitments in the class according to 247Sports. If the class ended today, this would be the first time the Fighting Irish would have two five-star signees on the 247Sports ranking since they started rating recruits back in the 2010 class.
That isn’t even including Adams, who is on the cusp of five-star status as well, currently sitting as the No. 36 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class. Buford (Ga.) High School defensive lineman Bryce Perry-Wright is the final five-star player on their ranking, sitting just four spots higher than Adams at No. 32.
During former head coach Brian Kelly’s tenure with the Fighting Irish, he never finished with more than one five-star player in any recruiting class, obviously, and only signed six total on their rankings in 13 years. Notre Dame fans were conditioned to accept lower standards on the recruiting trail under Coach Kelly before he vaulted for LSU, as well as the on field results in bigger games.
Those times are changing quickly.
If Coach Freeman and his Fighting Irish staff finish the 2026 class like most believe, it has a chance to be the best recruiting class they have put together in a very long time. The best part about the change from Kelly to Freeman is that if things don’t work out for a variety of reasons, there won’t be any lazy excuses attached to them. That’s the change of culture around the team, a combination of positivity while also taking ownership.
Coach Kelly told everyone as much as they were willing to listen about how hard it is to recruit at Notre Dame. Is it challenging? Of course, but it’s even harder when you aren’t willing to grind. Kelly instead chose to install a self imposed ceiling on the upside of the roster.
If the 2026 recruiting class is showing us anything, Coach Freeman and this staff aren’t afraid to battle against the best, for the best. For the first time in a very long time, Notre Dame fans believe tomorrow will be better than the day prior. This recent wave of high level recruiting is something we haven’t seen in South Bend in quite some time, and it isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Predicting the next five commitments for Notre Dame following elite cornerback Khary Adams opting for the Irish
Predicting the next five Notre Dame commitments for the 2026 recruiting class
