Blue and Gold Illustrated

42 NOV. 1, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY MIKE SINGER O ne of the interesting features on our website, BlueandGold.com, is the ability to log official "predictions" for prospects to choose a school. And once a year — typically in the fall —we'll go on a prediction spree. That spree took place over a nine-day span in October. We'll see how many of the projections become correct, but it's a look at which high school junior pros- pects that we and our sources believe are trending toward Notre Dame early in their process. All prospects listed in this article are in the 2027 class, and rankings are per Rivals. Perhaps the most notable pick is for the Irish to land Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas star Julius Jones Jr., who is the No. 12 wide receiver and No. 57 overall player in America. His fa- ther is none other than Julius Jones Sr., who starred at Notre Dame in the early 2000s, rushing for 3,018 yards and ac- counting for 29 total touchdowns. He was a second-round pick by the Dallas Cowboys in the 2004 NFL Draft and played several years in the league. Notre Dame feels like it's putting a product on the field to entice a top wide receiver such as Jones, and the fact that his father played for the Fighting Irish helps a lot. Jones could be wired in a way that makes him not want to follow in his father's footsteps, but that would sur- prise Notre Dame. Folks in South Bend believe they have a great chance to get Jones. Another Notre Dame legacy we pre- dicted to the Irish was Pittsburgh Cen- tral Catholic's James Halter, a three-star prospect and the No. 22 interior offen- sive lineman nationally. He's the son of former Fighting Irish offensive line- man Jordan Halter, who played under legendary line coach Joe Moore. Halter added an offer from Notre Dame in Sep- tember, and the Irish will be tough to beat for him. Notre Dame is in good position with a pair of impressive pass catchers whom we logged picks for. Michigan is considered the top com- petition for Notre Dame in the re- cruitment of Chicago Mount Carmel's Quentin Burrell, the No. 9 wide receiver and No. 41 overall prospect in the na- tion. Miami, Michigan, Alabama and Ohio State are a few other schools of note for Burrell. Notre Dame often has geography as a disadvantage with top prospects, but that's not the case with Burrell, a Chi- cago-area talent who has been to South Bend four times compared to Michigan twice. Notre Dame is in a good spot with a few tight end prospects, and there's no telling who the staff ends up with. But Denver (N.C.) East Lincoln's Jaxon Dol- lar is at the top of the staff's wish list, and he's favoring Notre Dame as well. The nation's No. 6 tight end and No. 85 overall prospect has visited multiple times this year and has strong relation- ships with Notre Dame's Mike Den- brock, Harris Bivin and others. It's not easy for the Irish to pull top talent out of a powerhouse like Bell- flower (Calif.) St. John Bosco, but they did in the 2024 cycle, when Marcus Freeman and Co. landed star linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. They'd love to continue that pipeline by landing three- star Jailen Hill, the No. 32 cornerback and No. 286 overall recruit in the land. Texas A&M and Southern Cal are con- sidered the other two teams to watch. Another cornerback who we believe is leaning toward Notre Dame is Raleigh (N.C.) Cardinal Gibbons' Xavier Hasan, the No. 4 player at his position and No. 58 overall prospect. South Caro- lina, Duke, Tennessee and Penn State are other programs he likes, but he is favoring the Irish. "I'm feeling great about them," he recently told Rivals' Chad Simmons. "They're still pretty high on my list. It's just a great vibe whenever I go up there. Notre Dame is recruiting me re- ally hard." The Irish will be tough to beat for St. Joseph (Ill.) St. Joseph-Ogden High's Cameron Wagner, who is the No. 17 of- fensive tackle and No. 201 overall player in America. Ohio State and a couple SEC schools are in the mix here, but the feel- ing is that he'll return to South Bend in November and will be on commit watch. It's been several years since Notre Dame has landed a player from Braden- ton (Fla.) IMG Academy, but it looks to be the program out in front for Am- arri Irvin, a three-star recruit and the No. 30 linebacker in the country. His father is Sedrick Irvin Sr., a for- mer Michigan State running back who spent a few years in the NFL in the early 2000s. So, check the NFL legacy box. His older brother is Sedrick Irvin Jr., who was committed to Notre Dame in the 2023 class. The two parties parted ways, and Irvin ended up at Stanford (where he still plays), but there's no bad blood between the Irvin family and Notre Dame. And Irvin had a great visit to South Bend for the North Carolina State game earlier this month. Notre Dame would love to land Chi- cago Brother Rice's Brayden Parks, a three-star prospect and No. 34 de- fensive lineman nationally. The 6-3, 295-pounder is the godson of Notre Dame legend Chris Zorich and his cousin is former Fighting Irish running back Tony Jones Jr. The Irish badly want him, and we don't see them losing this recruitment. ✦ F O O T B A L L RECRUITING Projecting Nine Class Of 2027 Prospects To Notre Dame Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas standout Julius Jones Jr. — the No. 12 wide receiver and No. 57 overall player nationally per Rivals, and the son of former Notre Dame running back Julius Jones Sr. — is among an outstanding group of 2027 prospects that are predicted to pick the Irish. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/RIVALS

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