Notre Dame football picked up a 27-10 win over the Michigan State Spartans this past weekend, and the victory on the field also doubled as a massive recruiting opportunity for head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff. Several top 2028 recruits made the trip to South Bend for the matchup, including one defensive tackle who has quickly become a priority target for the Fighting Irish.

The Woodlands (Texas) College Park defensive tackle RJ Wyms was among those in attendance, and according to a source, the visit went really well. Notre Dame’s staff, including defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, has been able to catch the attention of Wyms over the last several months, and the Irish have a chance to continue moving toward the top for one of the best defensive linemen in the entire 2028 class.

Why RJ Wyms checks so many boxes for Notre Dame

Wyms checks a lot of boxes from a recruiting ranking, offer list, and production perspective. He also brings a unique profile to the table that Notre Dame under Freeman has gravitated toward: he is the son of a former NFL standout.

Wyms’ father, Ellis Wyms, was a star defensive tackle at Mississippi State before enjoying a long NFL career. The elder Wyms was a sixth-round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2001 NFL Draft. He went on to play eight years in the league with the Buccaneers, Minnesota Vikings, and Seattle Seahawks. During that stretch, he recorded 146 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, and 19 sacks as a key rotational player.

Due to his overall recruiting profile and Freeman’s well-documented attraction to the sons of former NFL players, Wyms feels like a very easy target to keep a close eye on for this Notre Dame program.

RJ Wyms’ recruiting background

On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Wyms currently rates as a four-star, the No. 57 overall player, the No. 6 defensive lineman, and the No. 5 player from the state of Texas for the 2028 recruiting class. On 247 Sports’ own ranking, he sits even higher as the No. 36 overall player, the No. 6 defensive lineman, and the No. 5 player from the state of Texas.

The 6-1, 265-pound defensive tackle has drawn a long and impressive offer list.

Some of his top offers include Notre Dame, Michigan, Miami, LSU, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Cal, Duke, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Stanford, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Northwestern, SMU, and Oregon State, among others.

What Wyms brings to the table

Wyms is fresh off a fantastic sophomore season in 2025, recording 49 total tackles, 25 tackles for loss, six sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and a touchdown.

While he is a smaller defensive lineman, Partridge has gravitated toward this type of player, one who possesses a dynamite first step and natural leverage both in the run and pass game. Wyms is a hard guy to stop in tight spaces and easily creates power in very small windows.

As his body continues to develop and his game rounds out from a technical perspective, Wyms has a chance to be an absolute star on the next level with extremely high upside. Notre Dame has a real opportunity here to land one of the premier defensive line recruits in the country, and based on everything from this past weekend, the Fighting Irish are firmly in the mix.