Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP 70 FEBRUARY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED • On Jan. 6, the NCAA recruiting contact pe- riod began. During this period, authorized athlet- ics department staff members are permitted to make in-person, off-campus recruiting contacts and evaluations. Typically, members of the Notre Dame football coaching staff make these stops. But because they were tied up in Fort Lauderdale the second week of January for the Orange Bowl, the Fight- ing Irish recruiting staff and athletics department members were on the trail, seeing recruits at their high schools. According to Blue & Gold Illustrated recruiting insider Mike Singer, the following Notre Dame staff members hit the road to see recruits: gen- eral manager Chad Bowden, assistant to the gen- eral manager Carter Auman, director of recruiting Caleb Davis, director of player personnel Zaire Turner, on-campus recruiting coordinator Becca Sites, high school relations analyst Deland Mc- Cullough II, alumni engagement director Hunter Bivin, strategic initiatives director Dave Peloquin and compliance director Scott Connors. Bowden made the most prominent stops, see- ing four 2026 four-star prospects out West. He met with Las Vegas Bishop Gorman safety Jett Washington, San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic edge Simote Katoanga, Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita Catholic wide receiver Trent Mosley and Orange (Calif.) Lu- theran linebacker Talanoa Ill. Of the group, Mosley, On3's No. 23 player from California and No. 39 wide receiver nationally in the class, has the strongest ties to Notre Dame. His father, Emmett Mosley IV, played wide re- ceiver and running back for the Irish from 1993- 96. His mother, Cindy (Daws) Mosley, was a star women's soccer player during that same period. The three-time All-American captured the Her- mann Trophy as the nation's top player in 1996. Katoanga also has Irish ties since his former teammate, four-star linebacker Madden Fariamo, signed with the program in the 2025 recruit- ing cycle. Katoanga, On3's No. 7 player from the Golden State and No. 8 edge rusher in the coun- try, has been to South Bend three times, including for the Florida State game Nov. 9 with Faraimo. Meanwhile, Bowden is trying to gain ground with Washington and Ill, On3's Nos. 123 and No. 188 overall players in the class, respectively. They have yet to make it to South Bend on a recruiting visit but maintain interest in Notre Dame. Wash- ington is also On3's No. 1 player in Nevada and No. 10 safety in America, while Ill ranks as the No. 15 player in California and No. 16 linebacker in the nation. As for the eight other Notre Dame staff mem- bers on the road, they stopped by the top high schools in the following areas: Indiana, Wiscon- sin, Toledo, Chicago, Indianapolis and Detroit. • Notre Dame is still in the mix for one of the nation's top running back prospects. On Jan. 8, Forney (Texas) High four-star Javian Osborne an- nounced Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michi- gan, Notre Dame, Oregon, SMU, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M as his top 10 schools. Osborne is On3's No. 6 player from Texas, and No. 5 running back and No. 61 overall player na- tionally in the 2026 cycle. Though he has not yet visited campus, Osborne would like to make it to South Bend soon. "I'm definitely trying to consider them," Osborne told Blue & Gold Illustrated Sept. 5. "They're definitely in my top schools. I'm trying to get up there to see the viewpoint, see how the atmosphere is, the stadium — how everything is and how it feels." The Irish are still looking for their first 2026 class running back commit. — Kyle Kelly Follow @ByKyleKelly on X for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! Four-star safety Jett Washington of Las Vegas Bishop Gorman received an in-person recruiting visit from Notre Dame general manager Chad Bowden in early January. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND Commitment Updates Games played the weekends of Dec. 12-14 and Dec. 19-20 unless otherwise noted Class of 2026 LB Thomas Davis Jr.: Recorded 4 tackles and 1 QB hurry in Matthews (N.C.) Weddington's (13-1) 35-23 loss to Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley (16-0) in the state 4A semifinal round. Season complete. QB Noah Grubbs: Completed 18 of 42 passes for 243 yards with 3 touch- downs and 2 interceptions in Lake Mary (Fla.) High's (12-3) 52-19 loss to Venice (Fla.) High (14-1) in the Florida Class 7A state championship final. Season complete. Jett Washington, HHHH, 6-4, 185, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) DJ Williams, HHH, 6-1, 160, Tampa, Fla. (Carrollwood Day) Athlete Brandon Arrington, HHHH, 6-0, 180, La Mesa, Calif. (Mount Miguel) Joey O'Brien, HHHH, 6-4, 180, Wyndmoor, Pa. (La Salle College) Star ratings are from On3 as of Jan. 8 Commitments in bold italics ^ Received a Notre Dame offer between Dec. 3 and Jan. 8 2026 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: OL Ben Nichols of Davison, Mich. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: WR Madden Williams of Bellflower, Calif. (committed to Texas A&M); TE Brock Harris of Saint George, Utah (no longer considering Notre Dame); OL Darius Gray of Richmond, Va. (no longer considering Notre Dame); LB Markel Dabney of Chester, Va. (no longer considering Notre Dame); LB Storm Miller of Strongsville, Ohio (no longer considering Notre Dame); CB Davon Benjamin of Corona, Calif. (no longer considering Notre Dame); CB RJ Sermons of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (committed to USC); DB Jakob Weatherspoon of Avon, Ohio (committed to Ohio State); and S Bralan Womack of Flowood, Miss. (no longer considering Notre Dame). ON3 INDUSTRY 2026 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Jan. 8 1. Oregon 10 2. Southern Cal 7 3. Tennessee 7 4. LSU 6 5. Texas A&M 10 6. Florida State 6 7. Penn State 8 8. Ohio State 4 9. Auburn 5 10. South Carolina 6 11. Notre Dame 6 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits RECRUITING NOTES