Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 65 BY MIKE SINGER Notre Dame's hot streak in the 2026 class continued May 14 when Carrollton (Ga.) Central's Jonaz Walton commit- ted to the Fighting Irish. The four-star running back announced his pledge to the Irish over finalists Alabama, Florida, Stanford and Tennessee. "When I first visited there, I felt a dif- ferent vibe about the campus," Walton told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "If you've been there, you know what I'm talking about. It's a different place — the pres- tige. They're a great football team as well as an awesome school academically. You can't find that at such a high level in many places other than Notre Dame. "Coach [Marcus] Freeman is a great head coach. He's amazing. And even though Coach [Deland] McCullough left, they didn't drop at all for me. Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider was great com- ing in; he was easy to interact with. "It was a mixture of things to make it easy to commit to Notre Dame." Notre Dame of- fe re d Wa l to n a s p a r t o f i t s P o t of Gold Day last March, and then- Irish running backs coach Deland Mc- Cullough made the 5-9, 190-pounder a m a jo r p r i o r i ty. Walton visited South Bend for the first time in January 2025 and loved the trip, but a couple weeks later, McCullough took the running backs coach job with the Las Vegas Raiders. Freeman hired Seider to replace Mc- Cullough, and he was already recruiting Walton while holding the same position at Penn State. Walton informed Seider of his commitment privately during a home visit May 6. "He did a very good job recruiting me," Walton said of Seider. "He knew me before when he was recruiting me at Penn State and carried that over to Notre Dame. I built an even stronger re- lationship with him, and he knew it was somewhere I wanted to be. He's person- able, interactive, fun and easy to talk to." On May 3, Notre Dame landed a run- ning back commitment from Forney (Texas) High's Javian Osborne, which may have sped up Walton's process. "During my last visit [April 8], I knew it was the place I wanted to be, but we were still plan- ning on taking the official visits to see if it was something I was sure about," Walton said. "After seeing Javian com- mit, I felt like it was time. That's when I jumped in." Walton is the nation's No. 6 running back and No. 119 overall player per Ri- vals. He had all the big-time offers in the South — Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Texas — you name it. He even had scholarships from the likes of Mich- igan, Ohio State, USC and many others. At first, the thought of leaving the South was difficult, but after visiting Notre Dame, it became a lot easier. "It doesn't matter how far away it is," Walton stated. "It's where I want to be. "I was really interested in some of these Southern schools like Bama, Florida and Tennessee, but at the same time, when you know, you know. And even though it's sort of far, it's somewhere I want to be." Walton will sign with Notre Dame in December and enroll early in January 2026. He officially visited Notre Dame the weekend of June 14. "I could never see myself trying to de- commit or even entertaining any other coaches," Walton said. "I know this is the place I want to be. It would have to be something crazy to make me decom- mit. I won't be taking any other visits." Walton had a tremendous junior sea- son, rushing for 1,387 yards with 14 touch- downs on just 188 carries, while adding 39 receptions for 646 yards and 4 scores. He rushed for well over 1,000 yards as a freshman and sophomore as well. Through his first three seasons of high school ball, he's logged 567 carries for 4,714 yards with 56 rushing scores, and added 66 receptions for 953 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns. His three kickoff return touchdowns bring his ca- reer scoring total to 66. Walton earned first-team offensive honors on the MaxPreps Sophomore All-America Team in 2023 and the Freshman All-America Team in 2022. The Georgia Athletic Coaches Asso- ciation listed him as a first-team all- state performer in 2024. He was a state runner-up in the Geor- gia 4A track and field state champion- ships this spring, running a 10.66-sec- ond 100-meter dash. Walton's younger brother, Jacez, is a top running back prospect in the 2028 class. He's already armed with offers from Mi- ami, Georgia Tech, Florida and others. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE JONAZ WALTON Walton, who is the nation's No. 6 running back and No. 119 overall player per Rivals, picked Notre Dame over offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Texas and others. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/RIVALS 'Different Vibe' Helps The Irish Edge Out SEC Schools For Blue-Chip Running Back FILM ANALYSIS "Jonaz Walton has a lot of the positive indica- tors we look for in blue-chip running back pros- pects. He's a very well-rounded back and one who has a lot of things going for him. "For starters, he's had very productive seasons at the high school level, and he can win in a lot of different ways. He can pick up yards between the tackles and pop it outside. He has a compact, stocky build, which helps him break tackles and handle contact." — Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power "They're a great football team as well as an awesome school academically. You can't find that at such a high level in many places other than Notre Dame." WALTON