Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2025 35 BY MIKE SINGER Forney (Texas) High running back Ja- vian Osborne announced his commit- ment to Notre Dame over Michigan May 3, giving the Fighting Irish another big-time pledge in their 2026 recruiting class. Osborne is the nation's No. 15 running back and No. 157 overall player accord- ing to On3. The Irish and Wolverines were the final two schools on his list, and he also had scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas, among many others. "When you think of Notre Dame, it starts with the football program of course but then it's the life after football," Os- borne told Blue & Gold Illustrated about why he picked the Irish. "The Notre Dame degree holds a lot of weight. It doesn't get any better than Notre Dame." Osborne earned his offer from Notre Dame in March 2024 but didn't visit campus until March 18, 2025 — a trip that blew him away and made the Irish the lead contender in his recruitment. The four-star prospect returned to campus the next month and informed the staff of his decision to commit dur- ing that trip. "Mike Martin and Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider were super excited and pumped up," Osborne recalled. "Coach [Marcus] Freeman was fired up and said I had to help keep this recruiting class on track. I told him that we're going to win a na- tional championship." As a freshman and sophomore, Os- borne's Forney squad beat Lufkin (Texas) High in back-to-back seasons, and cur- rent Irish running back Kedren Young starred on the opposing team both years. Young was committed to the Irish during Osborne's sophomore season. "When I started getting offers, I asked my head coach if he could get me in touch with Notre Dame. I always loved Notre Dame," Osborne added. "He called the coach at Lufkin to get the connection with the Notre Dame coaches." While it took a while for Osborne to get to South Bend, once he did, it all clicked. "I always loved the school and what they're about," Osborne said. "I love seeing them run the ball." Last December, Penn State offered Osborne, and the Nittany Lions running backs coach at the time was Seider, who joined the Notre Dame staff a few months later for the same position. Osborne thought highly of ex-Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough, but when he left, Osborne's interest in Notre Dame didn't diminish. If anything, it increased. "When Coach Seider went to Notre Dame, he told me that I'm the guy he wanted," Osborne said. "I went on cam- pus that first time, and we hit it off. You can tell when coaches are faking it or not; I can tell the connection was genu- ine. It wasn't even all about football. He wanted to build a relationship with me. "On my second visit, we talked about football more, and he's a big reason why I committed to Notre Dame." Osborne is picking Notre Dame for the full package. Between the Irish's history of a strong running game, the coaching staff, tradition and academics, he believes it's the best fit for him. "Education is big, of course," he stated. "I have a 3.9 GPA. Academ- ics definitely played a part. Everyone around the school told me how much weight a Notre Dame degree holds. It does so much for you after football." Osborne had a strong junior season, rushing for 1,085 yards with 21 touch- downs while adding 3 receiving scores. His sophomore season was simply incred- ible — he carried the rock 290 times for 2,231 yards with 39 overall touchdowns to help lead Forney to a state semifinal ap- pearance in the Texas 5A D1 Conference. Osborne was named the District 7-5A Division I Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a true freshman. Across three seasons, he's logged 622 carries for 4,445 yards with 75 total scores. "On the field, I'm an explosive runner," he said. "I can make the first guy miss and hit a home run. Off the field, I love giving back to the community. Whether it's youth camps, building houses or whatever it is, I love community service." The Under Armour All-America Game started allowing high school juniors to play in it beginning this year, and Os- borne was among the participants. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE JAVIAN OSBORNE Irish Add Impressive Texas Running Back To 2026 Class Osborne, who has racked up 622 carries for 4,445 yards with 75 total scores during his first three prep seasons, picked Notre Dame over Michigan. PHOTO COURTESY ON3 FILM ANALYSIS "Javian Osborne is a compact running back with good vision, tackle-breaking ability. He came on our radar early on in his high school career. He had a really, really good sopho- more year and has continued to add size to his frame. "He's going to come to college with ready- made size. He's compactly built and does not miss time in the weight room. Osborne has a sturdy base, which is certainly something you want for running backs who will have an extensive workload." — On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power