Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532365
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 83 2025 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE has a good shot to make a move with Robinson. Notre Dame is expected to host Char- lotte (N.C.) Myers Park's Brody O'Keefe, a three-star prospect, at the end of March for an unofficial visit. He's a prospect worth monitoring as well. Wide receiver recruiting is crucial for the Fighting Irish in the 2026 class — the staff has missed out on many top targets the past few years. TIGHT END Committed: 0 Projected take: 2 Synopsis: Notre Dame went into the January recruiting period following its national championship run with more questions than answers when it came to 2026 tight end recruiting, with the main query being: who are the main targets? There wasn't a clear top of the board tight end or two among play- ers offensive coordinator and position coach Mike Denbrock and Co. had al- ready offered. But that changed in late January with Denbrock hitting the road and offer- ing four new tight ends, all of whom are now key targets for the Irish. Great Bend (Kan.) High's Ian Premer, Waukee (Iowa) High's Evan Jacobson, Dunlap (Ill.) High's Mack Sutter and Omaha (Neb.) Millard South's Isaac Jensen all added offers from Denbrock, after the Irish assistant saw them in person. This quartet ranks as On3's Nos. 4, 8, 11 and 29 tight ends in the country, respec- tively. Look for Notre Dame to become big contenders with these prospects moving forward. Notre Dame also re-emerged in the recruitment of Mt. Zion (Ill.) High's JC Anderson, who the staff offered last March. It didn't seem as if the Irish were making much of a push for the nation's No. 14 tight end, but that's changing now. He's certainly one to watch, and Anderson will officially visit Notre Dame in June. Most — if not all — of the aforementioned tight ends are likely to officially visit South Bend this sum- mer, too. OFFENSIVE LINE Committed: 3 Projected take: 4-5 Synopsis: Notre Dame is off to a hot start with its 2026 offensive line class with three interior players already com- mitted, headlined by Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley's Tyler Mer- rill. The massive 6-5, 330-pounder is the No. 5 interior offensive lineman and No. 72 overall player in the country, and picked the Irish over Ohio State, Michi- gan, Penn State, Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Texas A&M and others. He is joined by a pair of Wolverine State offensive linemen — Davison (Mich.) High's Ben Nichols and Allegan (Mich.) High's Sullivan Garvin — on the Irish commit list. They rank as the Nos. 17 and 25 interior linemen nationally, respectively. The Irish hope to land another line- man from Michigan in Gregory Patrick out of Portage (Mich.) Northern. The 6-4½, 280-pounder, who is the No. 7 interior lineman and No. 90 overall player nationally, could also play of- fensive tackle in college. It's obviously a guard heavy class so far, but Notre Dame is certainly in the market for a true tackle and has four names to know on the 2026 board. Those players are Chicago Mount Car- mel's Claude Mpouma, Garner (N.C.) South's Ekene Ogboko, Mansfield (Texas) Lake Ridge's Felix Ojo and Little Rock (Ark.) Pulaski Academy's Evan Goodwin. They rank as the Nos. 5, 14, 18 and 36, respectively, offensive tackles in the land. The Irish offered Ogboko in March 2024, but the other three added offers from Notre Dame this calendar year. The Irish are likely on the outside, looking in currently with Ogboko and Ojo but are working to make up ground and host both for summer official visits. Notre Dame needs to sign elite Chica- goland talent every year, and Mpouma is certainly that as a borderline five- star prospect. And Goodwin is a player the Irish staff likes a lot with his 6-7, 300-pound frame. DEFENSIVE LINE Committed: 0 Projected take: 4-5 Synopsis: The Irish are in store for a big defensive line class and are in the mix with some big-time players. There's a large group of targets on the interior and edge of the D-line that Al Washington and Co. are targeting. The interior breakdown begins with Bastrop (Texas) High's Tiki Hola, a three-star prospect and a key recruit for Washington. Notre Dame is battling Texas and USC for Hola, but that re- cruitment is trending well for the Irish. Chicago Simeon's McHale Blade, the No. 9 defensive lineman and No. 104 overall prospect in the land, is a top lo- Boca Raton (Fla.) Saint Andrew's School wide receiver Dylan Faison (left), a three-star prospect, pledged to join his brother Jordan Faison (right), a rising junior wide receiver, in South Bend. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY