Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543321
36 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY MIKE SINGER T his article is all in good fun but hopefully provides insight on the players listed below. There are 30 pros- pects in Notre Dame's class, so they all couldn't get superlatives, but eight of them did. CLASS MVP: LB THOMAS DAVIS JR. There are several players who could fit in this category, and there's not one clear and obvious choice for it. I like my class MVP to be someone who commit- ted early, is a supreme talent, a big name and coveted prospect, as well as some- one who has an infectious personality. Davis checks all of those boxes. In our Blue & Gold National Signing Day live YouTube show, Irish signees Kaydon Finley and Devin Fitzgerald joined us, and I asked them who they think could be a captain out of this class, and they both said Davis. A trusted source of mine on the Notre Dame side of things explained to me just how important Davis was to this class as a recruiter. He was crucial in Notre Dame landing a few other big-time North Carolina recruits and did a great job explaining the important aspects of why he committed to the Irish. Davis knows how important life after football is after seeing his dad play profession- ally and communicated his experiences with other recruits. It had also been several years since a prospect officially visited another school while being committed to Notre Dame and still signed with the Irish. Davis — a Georgia legacy — officially visited the Bulldogs over the summer, and many Irish fans assumed he'd flip but didn't come close to doing so. His family wanted him to consider his fa- ther's alma mater since he committed to Notre Dame so early. But he never wavered and continued to help the staff land big-time commit- ments, especially during the major June 13 official visit weekend. Runner-up: S Joey O'Brien Previous picks: RB Chris Tyree (2020), OL Blake Fisher (2021), LB Jaylen Sneed (2022), LB Drayk Bowen (2023), QB CJ Carr (2024), CB Dallas Golden (2025) BEST ATHLETE: CB AYDEN POUNCEY He's an incredible football player, and I agree completely with Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman's thoughts on Pouncey. "He is playing as well as any of the DBs when you watch what he does his senior year on film see what he's do- ing as a punt returner as a corner, as a safety, on offense," Freeman said dur- ing his early signing day press confer- ence in December. "He's playing as well as anybody in that defensive back signee class." He is a twitchy, explosive athlete with great size and speed. Pouncey can truly do it all. He's similar to five-star Fighting Irish signee Joey O'Brien in that he can do it all at the next level — wide receiver, safety, nickel, corner, return game — you name it, Pouncey can excel. He was tremendous on both sides of the ball during his 10-game senior sea- son, posting 54 tackles, 7 interceptions (5 returned for touchdowns), plus 35 receptions for 684 yards and 7 touch- downs. He also had a couple return touchdowns as well. Pouncey is a stud. Runner-up: OL Grayson McKeogh Previous picks: OL Michael Car- mody (2020), QB Tyler Buchner (2021), TE Eli Raridon (2022), ATH Brandyn Hillman (2023), S Tae Johnson (2024), OT Will Black (2025) MOST UNDERRATED: LB KOBE CLAPPER The Cincinnati linebacker is under- rated and overlooked. He's just not talked about enough. Clapper is a con- sensus three-star prospect, and not one website views him as a top-30 line- backer nationally. I just don't get it. He's been highly productive at the high school level playing top competi- tion in Ohio, and his film looks fantas- tic. He should be a four-star prospect based on his tape, but I suppose him not getting out on the camp circuit didn't help him. Sources have told me that Freeman is reminded of himself when he watches Clapper with both being physical line- backers from the Cincinnati area. That's pretty neat. Runner-up: OL Charlie Thom Previous picks: DT Aidan Keanaaina (2020), DB Ryan Barnes (2021), DB Jayden Bellamy (2022), S Adon Shuler Matthews (N.C.) Weddington linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. (right), seen here with cornerback Ayden Pouncey (left) at a game this past fall, is Blue & Gold Illustrated's "Class MVP" for Notre Dame's 2026 haul because of the role he played as a recruiter. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY Notre Dame Football Class Of 2026 Superlatives