Notre Dame football predicted to land massive rising defensive tackle against an elite offer list
Notre Dame football has a great opportunity to keep an extremely talented defender at home.
Notre Dame football has been recruiting on an extremely high level under head coach Marcus Freeman during his tenure. There has been an injection of talent all over the roster in recent years. One area of attention that the staff must continue to improve is on the defensive line, where the Fighting Irish were able to pull in a tremendous 2026 four-man haul of Rodney Dunham, Ebenezer Ewetade, Elijah Golden, and Tiki Hola.
For the 2027 recruiting class, Chicago (Ill.) St. Patrick defensive lineman David Folorunsho has quickly become a priority for the Notre Dame staff. A talented riser right in their backyard, Folorunsho has demanded the interest of some of the best programs in college football this offseason. Despite the high level of interest from others, there are several industry professionals who believe Notre Dame is the assumed leader right now.
It doesn’t hurt that Folorunsho’s high school head coach is former Notre Dame standout safety Tom Zbikowski.
That includes Steve Wiltfong, who logged an expert prediction for the Fighting Irish to close on the talented defender. The more I learn about Folorunsho, the better I also feel about Notre Dame’s chances. The next several weeks could go a long way toward Freeman and Co. being able to close the deal. I like their chances right now, but they will have to be ready to battle against some other great programs.
David Folorunsho’s recruiting background
From a recruiting rankings perspective, Folorunsho has one of the more bizarre profiles that you will find. He is considered to be a three-star recruit by the majority of the major recruiting platforms. The outlier is Rivals, which is extremely high on the Chicago native right now. On their ranking, Folorunsho ranks currently as a four-star, the No. 13 overall player, No. 2 defensive lineman, and No. 1 player from the state of Illinois. It wouldn’t be surprising to see some of the other platforms follow their lead.
Despite those modest rankings on some sites, a long list of impressive programs has been pushing hard for Folorunsho. Some of his top offers include the Fighting Irish, Texas, LSU, Florida, Penn State, Tennessee, Miami, Indiana, Nebraska, Missouri, Louisville, Vanderbilt, Washington, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas State, Iowa, UNC, Kentucky, Michigan State, Cincinnati, and Purdue, among others.
At 6-4 and 285 pounds, Folorunsho is an impressive athlete who has been used up and down the line of scrimmage from various alignments for St. Patrick. As a junior, the talented defender recorded 55 total tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and five sacks. As Folorunsho continues to fill out his frame and develop, he has the potential to become an even more dominant football player and a major riser in the 2027 recruiting class on each platform.