Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 SEPT. 13, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE SINGER P rep Football Report recruiting analyst Tom Lemming had to pause for a few moments when considering how the 2026 Notre Dame defensive line recruiting class stacks up on paper compared to years past. Off the top of his head, Lemming said this was the best haul the Irish have had since the 2011 class, which featured three five-star defensive linemen — Ishaq Williams, Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tu- itt — per the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services. "It's definitely one of their best de- fensive line classes in years," Lemming told Blue & Gold Illustrated. Notre Dame has a five-star pass rusher committed in Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park's Rodney Dunham, the No. 2 edge and No. 13 overall player nationally per the Rivals Industry Ranking. Garner (N.C.) South Garner's Ebenezer Ewetade is ranked as the No. 16 edge and No. 107 overall prospect per the Rivals Industry Ranking, but according to Rivals' own rankings, he's the No. 6 edge and No. 20 recruit in the land — making him on the cusp of five-star status per that outlet. Ewetade and Dunham give Notre Dame arguably the best edge pairing in the country. "I've always thought that defensive line was the Achilles heel," Lemming continued. "They're recruiting great on offense, and with the linebackers and defensive backs. This is a step up from what they've done in the past. "Ewetade has the most potential. He's got to get a lot bigger and stronger, and if he does he has five-star potential. He might be the best of the bunch." "Dunham is a loose, fluid, fantastic athlete," Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power said. "What re- ally stands out is the first-step quick- ness and flexibility. He has the movement skills you like to see at the position in ad- dition to his size. He makes really impres- sive individual plays, and he's scratching the surface as to how good he can be." Bastrop (Texas) High's Tiki Hola, a four- star prospect as the No. 39 defensive line- man and No. 368 overall player nationally per the Rivals Industry Ranking, might be least discussed among the Irish's four D- line commits, but the 6-2½, 300-pounder was a massive get for the Irish in May. "Tiki is a ferocious worker," Lemming said. "When you watch him on film, he has a relentless style which always translates to college. He won't back down. He's not as athletically gifted as Elijah, but he might be a slightly better player. I really like him a lot." Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney's Elijah Golden checks in as the No. 19 defensive lineman and No. 191 overall recruit in America per the Rivals Indus- try Ranking, and he committed to the Irish Aug. 9 over Alabama, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. "It's a great class. You have true pass rushers to develop," BlueandGold.com analyst Tim Hyde said. "And with Tiki Hola, his fundamentals are outstanding — especially how he uses his hands — and his stance is outstanding. "With Golden, he's like the big ends Notre Dame had in the Brian Kelly years — Rylie Mills, Khalid Kareem, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa — guys who would play defensive end and slide inside on pass rushing downs. Elijah is definitely in that category. I could see him packing on more muscle and becoming a pass rush- ing freak inside with the way he can twist and move. His movement skills are up there with a lot of great, elite five-stars." The last time Notre Dame signed a quartet of four-star defensive linemen was in the 2019 cycle with Jacob Lacey, Howard Cross III, Isaiah Foskey and NaNa Osafo-Mensah. The average na- tional ranking of that group was 274.5, while the Irish's 2026 D-line group has an average of 169.75. Not only is Notre Dame's defensive line class improved over years past, but the Irish are just recruiting at a different level than in quite some time. Here's one data point to prove that view: the Irish have 12 commits in the top 200 of the Rivals Industry Ranking — compared to seven in 2025, seven in 2024 and nine in 2023. "With all the updates, it's going to be awfully hard to push Notre Dame out of the top five of the team rankings," Hyde said. "It's going to be right there. It'll be a top-five-ish class. It's going to be a fun ride as we get to the end of the rankings." Much credit is due to Notre Dame de- fensive line coach Al Washington and analyst Nick Sebastian for putting to- gether the strong group. "Coach Washington, Coach Sebas- tian, Coach [Marcus] Freeman — they talk to me all the time and feel like fam- ily," Ewetade told Blue & Gold Illustrated at the time of his commitment. ✦ F O O T B A L L RECRUITING Analysts Rave About Four-Man Irish Defensive Line Class After landing four-star defensive lineman Elijah Golden, position coach Al Washington (above) has assembled one of its best Irish defensive line classes in at least 15 years, per Tom Lemming of Prep Football Report. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER