Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 29, 2025 41 BY MIKE SINGER N ational Signing Day is scheduled for Dec. 3, the earliest it's ever been. And Notre Dame is on pace to sign its first top-five recruiting class since 2013, when the Irish signed the No. 4 class in the country. As of Nov. 19, Notre Dame's 2026 haul was also ranked No. 4 in the nation in the Rivals Industry Rankings. It's common for Notre Dame to jump out to a high ranking early in a recruiting cycle but taper off later in the year. But so close to signing day, the Irish's class is holding steady. There are many reasons for that. Notre Dame has elite prospects com- mitted who improved their own rank- ings over the course of their senior seasons. But there's also one impor- tant fact: the class has held strong and stayed together. In the 2025 class, Notre Dame had seven players who were pledged to the Irish who later decommitted from the program. That included five-star quar- terback Deuce Knight, one of the crown jewels of the class. He flipped his pledge to Auburn, which was a drawn-out pro- cess, but it was a complete 180 after he was such a strong leader of the class. What about the 2026 class? How many decommitments have the Irish had? Zero. Twenty-seven prospects have com- mitted to the Irish. Not one of them has backed off their Notre Dame pledge. Could that change? It's possible. Re- cruiting is unpredictable. But as of two weeks before signing day, there are no rumblings of any of the Notre Dame commits looking around, but others have tried. WHY ELIJAH GOLDEN AND JOEY O'BRIEN HAVE STUCK WITH NOTRE DAME On Nov. 2, Auburn fired head coach Hugh Freeze, but before that took place, the Tigers reached out to Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney's Elijah Golden, the No. 23 defensive lineman and No. 229 overall player in America per Rivals, in hopes to flip him away from the Irish. It's a moot point now, but Golden is one of several examples of other pro- grams trying to flip an Irish commit, but the recruit didn't entertain it. "Yes, sir, I'm locked in," Golden told Blue & Gold Illustrated Oct. 24. "God led me to this decision, and I'm sticking with that decision. I'm locked in with the Irish. I'm very excited to enroll early, put in work in the spring and hopefully get a chance to see the field." When Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle Col- lege's Joey O'Brien, the No. 1 safety and No. 25 overall prospect in the land ac- cording to Rivals, committed to Notre Dame over Penn State and Oregon over the summer, it was assumed both pro- grams would keep pushing for him. Penn State's 2025 season has been a dumpster fire and James Franklin was fired, but on Sept. 27, the Nittany Lions were the No. 3 team in the country and hosted the No. 6 Ducks. As an in-state recruit and college football fan, O'Brien would've loved to attend the game, but Irish fans will be delighted by his rea- soning for not going. "I really wanted to go to that Penn State-Oregon 'White Out' game just to watch it, but I didn't go because I'm committed and want to show respect to Notre Dame by not going," he said. The Notre Dame staff would've un- derstood if he had attended, but O'Brien knew it wouldn't have been a good look given the media attention it would draw. "Especially since those were my No. 2 and No. 3 schools," he added. How has O'Brien handled it when other coaches have reached out to him? "I just show respect to them, thank them for their time," O'Brien answered. "But I tell them that I'm with ND, and I'm committed there. I'm going to stay with Notre Dame." O'Brien acknowledged that he's seen the noise on social media about other programs wanting to flip him and Tow- son (Md.) Loyola Blakefield's Khary Ad- ams, the No. 2 cornerback and No. 23 overall prospect nationally per Rivals. But both prospects are firm in their Notre Dame commitments. "I look on Twitter, and I see people say that me and Khary are going to be the ones who [decommit]," O'Brien noted. "I talk to Khary all the time, and we're totally locked in. We're both going to Notre Dame." ✦ F O O T B A L L RECRUITING Notre Dame's 2026 Class Is Holding Strong Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College's Joey O'Brien, the No. 1 safety and No. 25 overall prospect nationally accord- ing to Rivals, has remained steadfast in his Notre Dame commitment despite other schools pushing for him. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY