Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 43 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE uber-talented class and the best class I've seen the Irish sign in my 20-plus years in this business and being around that program. "It's one that will keep Notre Dame competing for championships for years to come. This is a class that has a tre- mendous amount of upside at key po- sitions. It allows them to keep playing their standard of ball — great O-line play and you can run the ball with their two backs. It's the top tight end class in the country, has some dynamic wide- outs and an elite secondary and defen- sive line class." Prep Football Report recruiting analyst Tom Lemming: "This class is right up there with the best you'll see. The key moving forward for Notre Dame will be to stay consistent in the top five or six of the rankings. If you want to stay among the elites — such as Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State — you have to keep recruiting at that level. They need to follow this 2026 class up with an- other great one. "I have Notre Dame as the No. 2 class, only behind USC, because they had more players. It was pretty close." BGI: Which Notre Dame signee could you see having the biggest instant impact? Power: "This isn't as easy to pick with Notre Dame as some other pro- grams because it already has such good depth on its roster. It's not a program where you can pencil in many true freshmen contributors, which is a good thing. I would start with Joey O'Brien because he has really high-level in- stincts. "The speed of the game won't be too fast for him with how advanced he is mentally. The big thing for him will be getting bigger and stronger in the off- season, but I would start with him based on his skill set and what he can bring with his versatility. He can cover receiv- ers and play center field. You can make a case for several of these guys." Wiltfong: "They hope Kaydon Finley or one of the wide receivers can have an instant impact — maybe it's one of the running backs. Notre Dame has a great secondary returning, but they brought in some special players. Maybe someone can push their way into the lineup, like Leonard Moore did as a true freshman. "It's going to be hard to break into the lineup as a true freshman on this team. Notre Dame is favored to win the national championship next year. It'll be hard for any of them to come in and have a Malachi Toney-type impact [star freshman receiver at Miami last season]." Lemming: "The two running backs coming in are both very good. Another to watch is Kaydon Finley, the wide re- ceiver, and they have the two incoming five-star defensive backs. Skill players are usually the ones who play earliest. "Every defensive back they brought in was outstanding." BGI: Which prospect do you think could outplay his ranking? Power: "He moved up for us in the final rankings update, but I could see Devin Fitzgerald outplaying his ranking. I could certainly see a scenario where he's drafted ahead of where we have him ranked. He made a ton of improve- ment over the past year and a half. His production increased significantly, and Fitzgerald is a smart, crafty, technical possession receiver and one who im- pressed us in the seven-on-seven set- ting last summer. He parlayed that into a great senior season. "If he can continue adding speed and burst, he has the awareness and ball skills to be a player who develops into a primary option at Notre Dame." Wiltfong: "Most of them are ranked really high, but there are a few that come to mind. They didn't need to take a sixth offensive lineman, but they took Charlie Thom, which tells you how talented he is and how excited they are about his upside. "Preston Fryzel has dynamic play- making ability at the tight end position. Tiki Hola was one of their most coveted defensive line targets; he's a 300-pound wrecking ball. Nick Reddish is some- one who Notre Dame always loved and Longtime recruiting expert Tom Lemming compared Notre Dame signee Preston Fryzel — the No. 22 tight end and No. 384 overall player nationally in the Rivals Industry ratings — to former Irish standout Tyler Eifert while identifying Fryzel as a "sleeper" who could outperform his ranking. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY