Notre Dame takes a big step towards beating out several elite programs for a priority recruiting target
Notre Dame made a very important list for one of their most important 2027 recruiting targets.
As Notre Dame football continues to build upward under head coach Marcus Freeman, high school recruiting will continue to be a topic of conversation. Freeman and Co. have done a tremendous job in that department over the last several years, and most notably with the elite group they put together in the 2026 recruiting class. One of the biggest areas of need to focus on moving forward is going to be to continue upgrading the defensive tackle position.
In the 2027 recruiting class, there is no bigger priority defensive line target in the country than Chicago (Ill.) Brother Rice defensive tackle Brayden Parks. Whenever you have top talent in your backyard, you need to be able to close on them, especially a kid from Chicago. The Fighting Irish have been pushing for Parks from the very beginning, and that isn’t going to stop anytime soon.
Notre Dame took a solid step toward landing Parks this week when they made his updated top 8 schools list. The Irish were joined by Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Georgia, Miami, Tennessee, and Illinois. That is an elite group of suitors, so Notre Dame will have to be ready to fight to the very end.
As of today, Notre Dame is absolutely the team to beat. They will need to close hard over the next couple of months. There is no question that they have the inside track, and now they will need to capitalize on the opportunity, especially new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.
Brayden Parks’ recruiting background
Parks is considered to be a four-star player by a majority of the major recruiting platforms, the exception being Rivals, which has him rated as a three-star player currently. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Parks currently sits as the No. 161 overall player and No. 19 defensive lineman in the 2027 recruiting class. He is also pegged as the No. 8 player in the state of Illinois, a very important area for the Irish.
The offer list for Parks is even more impressive than his recruiting rankings. Some of the top programs that have offered Parks includes the Fighting Irish, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Michigan, LSU, Ole Miss, Penn State, USC, Miami, Auburn, Nebraska, Michigan State, Indiana, Kansas State, Iowa, Illinois, Washington, Arkansas, Arizona State, Iowa State, Minnesota, UNC, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Kansas, among others.
The 6-3, 305-pound defensive tackle was a tremendous player for Brother Rice as a junior in 2025. In 13 games that he played in, Parks managed to record 44 total tackles, six tackles for loss, and two sacks. His impact is a lot greater than the box score might suggest, possessing an impressive blend of size, power, and movement skills. It is hard to miss big No. 98 on the field for Brother Rice.