It was an incredibly successful weekend for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who had their home opener against the Rice Owls, a game in which head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish came out with a 52-0 blowout victory.

This was a perfect outing for a team that had a get-right opportunity for their starters, showed improvement from their Week 1 matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers, and had the chance to get a lot of their younger players live action.

On top of the on-field progress and performance, Freeman and Co. also hosted several key targets in the 2028 recruiting class. One of the main players to know is 2028 Brookline (Mass.) Dexter Southfield defensive end Jeremiah Figaro, a long and athletic pass rusher who has commanded the interest of several big-time programs.

Jeremiah Figaro’s recruiting background

The 6-4, 205-pound edge rusher is currently rated as a four-star and the No. 231 overall player on the 247 Sports Composite ranking. That same ranking has him rated as the No. 21 edge and the No. 5 player from the state of Massachusetts for the 2028 class. The 247 Sports individual ranking is even higher on Figaro, currently sitting as the No. 139 overall player, the No. 18 edge, and the No. 4 player from the state of Massachusetts for the 2028 recruiting class.

Figaro’s talent has drawn attention from defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, defensive coordinator Chris Ash, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Some of his other top offers include Miami, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Penn State, Nebraska, Florida State, Rutgers, Boston College, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, Texas Tech, UCF, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Wisconsin, among several others.

Notre Dame’s defensive line recruiting under Partridge

Under Partridge, we have seen Notre Dame recruit the defensive line at an extremely high level. On the back end of the Al Washington tenure for the defensive line, the Irish also started to recruit at a better clip, including closing on the 2026 recruiting class with Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade.

In the 2027 recruiting class, Notre Dame arguably has the best defensive line group of commitments they have ever had, which includes five-star Abraham Sesay, elite defensive tackle David Folorunsho, Brayden Parks, pass rusher Jackson Vaughn, and high-upside defensive tackle Segun Alexander. With such a tremendous 2027 class already committed, Partridge and company have set their eyes on the 2028 class, and Figaro is an early favorite to know.

Where things stand for Notre Dame and Figueroa

The 6-4, 205-pounder was high on Notre Dame going into this past visit, and it appears that things are in a great place right now. On3’s Steve Wiltfong has logged an expert prediction for Figueroa to land with the Fighting Irish.

From conversations I had this past weekend, it does sound like Notre Dame is in pole position for the talented pass rusher. If he decides to make a commitment anytime soon, the Irish are expected to be extremely hard to beat. From here, it’s going to be about closing strong, but things seem to be in a tremendous place.

This past weekend was a massive success for the Fighting Irish, both on and off the field.