Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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48 JANUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY Notre Dame football's momentum on the 2025 recruiting trail carried over to the 2026 class on Dec. 5 when Allegan (Mich.) High rising three-star recruit Sullivan Garvin gave the Fighting Irish their sixth pledge in the high school ju- nior class. He is the first offensive line- man to verbally commit to Notre Dame in the 2026 cycle. According to On3's rankings, Garvin is the No. 5 prospect in Michigan and the No. 25 interior offensive lineman nationally in 2026. Notre Dame projects him to play guard or center in college. Garvin's decision came 18 days af- ter he visited campus for the Virginia game and gave the Irish an indication it wouldn't be long before they received his pledge. He publicized his decision after privately committing to head coach Marcus Freeman and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph on Dec. 1. "I know in my gut, in my mind and everything, really, that Notre Dame is the place for me," Garvin told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "I just see it as a 'Why wait?' type of thing. I want to be one of the leaders of this class, get it going early and get locked in. I want to focus on one program and have a fun senior year." N o t re D a m e b e c a m e t h e s e c - ond Power Four school (Indiana was the first) to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-6, 300-pounder when he unof- ficially visited campus for the Louisville game Sept. 28. Since then, he added Washington, Kansas, Purdue and Cin- cinnati offers — also visiting the latter three schools. When Garvin visited Notre Dame for the Louisville game, he already had an idea that South Bend would be his col- lege town. Still, he let other coaches recruit him while attending games at their respective schools throughout the season. With each opposing visit, the gap between Notre Dame and Garvin's other top schools widened, making his decision crystal clear. "I compared the schools to Notre Dame — how everything is, the rela- tionship with the O-line coach, how I feel in the city, how I like the campus," he said. "Through every visit, Notre Dame was at the top of the list. For me, it wasn't close. So that's why I want to commit early." Though Rudolph waited five games into Garvin's junior season to formally offer him a scholarship, Garvin had long been on his radar. Notre Dame welcomed him to campus for spring practice April 16 and then again for the program's Irish Invasion high school prospect camp June 2. In between his trips to South Bend, Ru- dolph made it up to Allegan to evaluate Garvin. Those meetings helped the Irish bet- ter understand Garvin's personality and led to the decision to push for his verbal commitment. "Coach Rudolph believes in me more than anyone I've ever met," Garvin said. "He's an amazing coach. … "He says I have the right character and I'm coachable. He knows the rest of it will come. That's what he really likes about me. I know he sees the potential that I might not know I have." And Garvin is confident that Ru- dolph will get the most out of him, considering his development track record. "Notre Dame is O-line University," Garvin said. "Being wanted that hard from that place, it was pretty clear where I wanted to go." Garvin is coming off a junior season where he earned first-team Southwest- ern Athletic Conference honors. The year before, he captured a spot on the honorable mention list. In addition to his all-conference ac- colades, Garvin claimed a spot on the Michigan Division 5, Region 1 all-re- gion team in 2024 and was first-team all-state. He was also a team MVP and team captain, and did not surrender any sacks. Though Garvin could have used this offseason to increase his stock and en- tertain interest from other schools, Notre Dame's efforts proved it wasn't worth the wait. "This whole process has been amaz- ing," he said. "Every university has made the recruiting process great. But Notre Dame has been my favorite, with- out a doubt." ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE SULLIVAN GARVIN Garvin, On3's No. 5 player in Michigan and No. 25 interior lineman nationally, is Notre Dame's first com- mitment on the offensive line in the 2026 cycle. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 FILM ANALYSIS "The first thing that pops out is that Sullivan Garvin is tall, long and he has really good feet. He's got a lot of really good traits. He has a great stance with pads over the toes. I'm a big fan of that with offensive linemen. He's a good knee bender. He constantly moves his feet, and when he finishes his blocks, he throws guys around. He's a big dude. He instantly reminds me of some of the guys in the 2025 class with the size he brings. "He's like a Sullivan Absher-type of guy size- wise. He's a talented football player. When you see him, you can tell he's good. I just keep go- ing back to his feet. He's not a clogger, mean- ing a slow, methodical, drive-blocker. He's got pistons. His feet are always moving on blocks. "This is, without a doubt, a good get. I'm really looking forward to seeing him at Notre Dame." — BlueandGold.com analyst Tim Hyde Irish Land Southwest Michigan Offensive Line Standout