Notre Dame football may have just found an underrated and exciting answer for a big recruiting question mark in the 2026 class
Notre Dame football is in a bit of a weird spot in terms of tight end recruiting in the 2026 class. They are in a good place with Waukee (Iowa) High School standout Evan Jacobson, but still need to close that deal. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff want to bring in […]
Notre Dame football is in a bit of a weird spot in terms of tight end recruiting in the 2026 class. They are in a good place with Waukee (Iowa) High School standout Evan Jacobson, but still need to close that deal. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff want to bring in two tight ends, but have a lot of work to do to make that happen.
The program did make a very intriguing offer on Wednesday when they extended one to 2026 Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic tight end Preston Fryzel. The Ohio native has seen a lot more recruiting attention this offseason, and that continued this week. When you pop on the film, he brings some very intriguing upside to the table.
While Fryzel is an undersized tight end, he possesses a lot of upside. He plays mostly at wide receiver, where he shows big play ability to threaten the seam a ton. If he can put on a good amount of weight, Fryzel has the movement skills to become a mismatch weapon. He has some special upside if developed properly.
Fryzel is considered to be a three-star recruit by every major recruiting platform. He is currently rated as the No. 683 overall player, No. 35 tight end, and No. 29 player in the state of Ohio for the 2026 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite ranking. The On3 Industry ranking has Fryzel ranked as the No. 43 tight end in the class.
Even with those lower rankings, Fryzel has been pursued by a long list of programs. Some of the top offers Fryzel currently holds include the Fighting Irish, Miami, Auburn, Iowa, Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, UNC, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Duke, Maryland, Arizona, West Virginia, Northwestern, Wake Forest, and Purdue among others.
Fryzel is fresh off of a dynamic season for Central Catholic. The 6-4, 220-pound pass catcher managed to haul in 39 receptions for 740 pounds and 10 touchdowns. He averaged a stellar 19 yards per reception, an insane number for a tight end.
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