Notre Dame is predicted to miss out on one of the top pass catchers in the 2027 recruiting class to an SEC school
An update just came out on a top Notre Dame tight end target. It appears there could be some bad news on the horizon for the Irish.
Notre Dame football has a tremendous track record of recruiting and developing the tight end position. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have done a very sound job of continuing that trend during his tenure. The 2027 recruiting class, however, has seen several struggles, and it appears that there could be some more bad news on the horizon.
Even after Notre Dame landed 2027 Choctaw (Okla.) High School tight end Titus Hawk several weeks ago, there was still an intention to take another tight end, and they wanted more of a passing game threat. The Irish have had several misses in the 2027 tight end class already, including five-star Jaxon Dollar, Seneca Driver, and Cooper Terwilliger. With the board shrinking, the main remaining target became Oak Ridge (Tenn.) High School standout Malik Howard.
Heading into the official visit season, Notre Dame has been viewed as a top two team with Howard with the Tennessee Volunteers. The home-state Vols were the perceived leader but the Irish staff has been hopeful that they could flip the script when he takes his official visit to South Bend on June 12-14. It will be interesting to see if he ends up making that trip, especially after things have been trending quickly toward Tennessee.
In a recent update from Rivals national recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong, he logged an expert prediction for Howard to land with Tennessee.
If Notre Dame wants a chance to reverse the momentum, they need to convince Howard to keep his mind open until he makes his return visit to South Bend. Freeman and Co. have a great track record of closing in an official visit setting. The next few days will be interesting to watch for the Howard recruitment.
Malik Howard’s recruiting background
Howard is considered to be a four-star player by each of the major recruiting platforms outside of rivals. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Howard is currently rated as the No. 215 overall player, the No. 11 tight end, and the No. 9 player from the state of Tennessee for the 2027 recruiting class. ESPN is the highest on Howard, pegged as the No. 157 overall player.
If Howard’s recruiting rankings don’t excite you, his offer list probably will. Some of his top offers include the Fighting Irish, Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Miami, Florida State, Auburn, Indiana, Nebraska, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Mississippi State, Maryland, Colorado, UNC, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Syracuse, West Virginia, Duke, and Purdue, among others.
As a junior in 2025, Howard put together a tremendous season for Oak Ridge. The 6-3.5, 231-pound pass catcher managed to haul in 53 receptions for 778 yards and 11 touchdowns in 11 games. That is an average of 14.7 yards per reception, a healthy number for a tight end.