Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539676
PREP PROFILES BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 27, 2025 45 Five-star offensive tackle Mark Mat- thews has been on the fast track to be- coming a Notre Dame football recruit. After not playing football until his freshman year, the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas junior has quickly risen in the ranks and is now one of the most highly sought-after pros- pects in the 2027 recruiting cycle. His Rivals ranking reflects it with a five-star prospect. Coincidence or not, shortly after Ri- vals awarded him that ranking in May, Irish offensive line coach Joe Rudolph extended him a scholarship offer. About four months later, Notre Dame welcomed the Sunshine State stand- out to campus for the first time for its matchup with Texas A&M Sept. 13. Matthews told Blue & Gold Illustrated he wanted to visit South Bend because of head coach Marcus Freeman, the culture, the history and "the greatness behind it." It didn't take long for him to sense all of that firsthand. "Oh, 100 percent. 100 percent," Mat- thews said when asked if he got a sense of the culture and history on campus. "I was also with my teammate, Julius Jones, and his dad. His dad is a Notre Dame legend. "Just seeing all the people that know him and being in that area, feeling the vibe — especially when they scored a touchdown. They would like push peo- ple up. It was really cool." He also gave high marks to the atmo- sphere. "It was pretty cool," Matthews said. "They have a lot of different cultures. They had a priest that was DJing. How closely they're tied to God." Before the game, Matthews had other conversations that stuck with him — particularly with Freeman and Rudolph, who have been in regular contact lead- ing up to the visit. Their message was simple. "They just wanted to get me up there," Matthews said, "and get me up there more. That means a lot." Matthews said he plans to return to campus for a practice in the spring. But he also made clear that his recruitment remains wide open. For now, Notre Dame is in his top 10. Among the other schools in the mix are three he plans to visit this season: Alabama (versus Tennessee Oct. 18), Georgia (versus Alabama Sept. 27) and Ohio State (versus Penn State Nov. 1). Oregon is also a major contender, though Matthews expects to wait until after his season to make that return trip. — Kyle Kelly David Jacobs Jr.'s reaction revealed he was appalled by the question. Blue & Gold Illustrated interviewed the Notre Dame football recruiting tar- get out of Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity Catholic after he unofficially visited the Fighting Irish for the Texas A&M game Sept. 13. Jacobs was one of about 70 recruits at Notre Dame Stadium to witness the home team's upsetting 41-40 loss to Texas A&M — which begged the ques- tion of whether the outcome changed his interest in the Irish. "No, no, no, no," the 6-foot-5½, 225-pound Peach State product said. "I don't care. Everyone loses. It's all good. Losses happen." Jacobs has now been on hand for both of Notre Dame's defeats this sea- son. He made an unofficial visit to Mi- ami Aug. 31 when the Irish faced the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium and has a unique perspective on how Notre Dame has started the season — and a different opinion of the program than the ones surfacing on social media Sept. 14. "But things happen, man. Some- times, you don't get the calls you want to get. Notre Dame played great, so I can't even blame them." In addition to Notre Dame and Mi- ami, Jacobs also visited Florida State for the Alabama game Aug. 30 and Oregon for the Oklahoma State game Sept. 6. Although the home teams won all three of those matchups, Ja- cobs still left South Bend impressed by how the fans at Notre Dame Sta- dium handled themselves after a gut- wrenching loss. "The difference in Notre Dame is all the fans," Jacobs said. "I didn't hear it after the loss like, 'Notre Dame sucks. Fire Coach [Marcus] Freeman.' It just shows that all the fans are true fans. "Also, Notre Dame's a great place to be with amazing people, amazing alumni. I met a couple of them yester- day. It's a great place with great people." Leading up to the visit, Jacobs esti- mated he connects with defensive line coach Al Washington about once ev- ery week or two. He also said that pace aligns with his communication with other schools. That is notable consider- ing his highly competitive recruitment. — Kyle Kelly Notre Dame Impresses Five-Star Offensive Tackle Visit Goes Well For Elite Edge Despite Loss To Texas A&M MARK MATTHEWS ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Status: Offered Class: 2027 Position: Offensive tackle Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 301 Rivals Rankings: No. 1 player in Florida, and No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 2 overall player nationally DAVID JACOBS JR. ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Blessed Trinity Catholic H.S. Roswell, Ga. Status: Offered Class: 2027 Position: Edge Ht.: 6-5.5 • Wt.: 225 Rivals Rankings: No. 4 player in Georgia, and No. 3 edge and No. 23 overall player nationally "No, no, no, no. I don't care. Everyone loses. It's all good. Losses happen." JACOBS