Notre Dame football looks set to take a swing at a unique recruiting target with very little buzz
Notre Dame offered a 2028 pass catcher with almost no recruiting buzz. Why would Marcus Freeman’s staff take this swing?
Notre Dame football made an intriguing recruiting move this week. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff offered 2028 New Orleans (La.) John F. Kennedy wide receiver Rashad Jackson, a speedy pass catcher who has flown well under the radar.
Jackson is a talented player when you pop on his Hudl highlight tape. Still, this is a recruiting profile you don’t typically see from Freeman, wide receivers coach Mike Brown, or the Notre Dame staff in general. When the Irish officially offered this week, Jackson had just one FBS offer to his name, and it came from Western Kentucky.
That list has started to grow. Kentucky and Miami (Ohio) have also offered since Notre Dame jumped in, and from the sound of it, a lot more interest appears to be on the horizon.
Rashad Jackson’s recruiting background
If you’re into massive offer lists and high rankings, Jackson isn’t going to be for you right now. The 6-foot, 175-pound receiver isn’t rated on any of the major recruiting platforms. Without an impressive offer list or a rating to his name, plenty of Notre Dame fans are going to see this one and have some questions.
What Jackson does have is production. He is off to a strong start in his junior season at John F. Kennedy, hauling in 23 receptions for 565 yards and eight touchdowns so far. That works out to an average of over 24 yards per reception.
On top of that, Jackson doubles as a track and field athlete for his high school. That speed definitely pops on film, which helps explain the big yards-per-catch number.
It’ll be worth watching just how hard Notre Dame pushes for the Louisiana native. Right now, there isn’t much competition for him, at least in terms of reported offers.
Why Notre Dame deserves the benefit of the doubt
Here’s the thing about this Notre Dame staff. While the Irish have typically gone after elite prospects over the last couple of recruiting cycles, Freeman and his assistants have always valued their own evaluations.
That includes making an early push for Elijah Burress when he had very few offers to his name. The staff also offered Bryce Young during his sophomore year of high school, when he was still transitioning from wide receiver to defensive end. At the time, many thought it was nothing more than a legacy offer and not an overly legitimate one.
Every fan base has had question marks about a seemingly random offer or two. Who could forget Anthonie Knapp a few years ago? Joe Rudolph offered, and Knapp quickly became an auto-take for Notre Dame.
Examples like these have caused many to give the Irish the benefit of the doubt. When this staff values a player enough to push, it typically has a very good reason.
Whether Jackson ends up on that list remains to be seen. For now, he’s a talented receiver with an unusual recruiting background, and Notre Dame fans should keep a close eye on how this one develops.
