Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 59 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY KYLE KELLY S am Spiegelman was already a Tiki Hola advocate. Then the Rivals na- tional recruiting analyst saw the Notre Dame defensive tackle commit domi- nate in person during the Texas high school football playoffs. "Tiki Hola was the best player on the field," Spiegelman told Blue & Gold Il- lustrated. "He individually shut down an entire Waco University rushing attack." The 6-foot-3, 280-pound Hola fin- ished with 5 tackles and 6 quarterback hurries during Bastrop (Texas) High's 69-42 win over Waco (Texas) Univer- sity High in the second round of the 5A, Division II tournament. Waco finished with just 70 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 carries in the high-scoring affair. The game featured no shortage of Power Four talent. Bastrop's starting quarterback was Rivals' No. 42 player in Texas and No. 26 signal-caller nationally in the 2027 class, Arizona State three-star commit Weston Nielsen. His top target was 2027 three-star wide receiver Dallas Cres- cenzo, the No. 95 recruit in the Lone Star State and the No. 94 pass catcher nationally, who is committed to Purdue. Waco countered with multiple Power Four pledges of its own, including Bay- lor commits London Smith, a three- star wide receiver in the 2026 class, and four-star safety Davontrae Kirkland, the No. 35 player in Texas in the 2027 cycle. The Lions also featured Northwestern three-star edge Ronald Derrick, Rivals' No. 169 player in Texas and the No. 125 edge nationally in 2026. Yet Spiegelman came away convinced his evaluation of Hola still applied, not just to that game but to the entire 2026 class. Hola is a three-star prospect, check- ing in as the No. 137 recruit in Texas and the No. 76 defensive tackle nationally in Rivals' rankings. After covering him for four years, however, Spiegelman be- lieves Hola's impact at Notre Dame will far exceed his ranking. "This guy is going to be a strong con- tributor for the Irish before too long," Spiegelman said. "Even though his re- cruiting ranking and position aren't su- per sexy, people are going to be really pleased with the results, the production and the impact he makes for that Notre Dame defense moving forward." Former Irish defensive line coach Al Washington identified Hola as a future difference-maker at nose tackle, and Spiegelman saw exactly why in one of Hola's final high school appearances. "He made life exceedingly difficult in the trenches," Spiegelman said. "I saw him taking on two and three offensive linemen at once, collapsing the pocket and swallowing up any semblance of a running game. Those things aren't sexy, but they are absolutely critical, especially as he grows into an interior defensive lineman at Notre Dame." ✦ Tiki Hola Made A Major Impact As A Senior TIKI HOLA DEFENSIVE LINEMAN 6-3 · 280 BASTROP H.S. BASTROP, TEXAS RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE Industry ✪✪✪ 441 44 59 ✪✪✪ — 76 137 ✪✪✪ — 76 85 ✪✪✪✪ 172 11 23 STATISTICS • Totaled 86 tackles, 11 stops for loss, 3 sacks, 1 pass broken up, 3 forced fumbles, 5 fumble re- coveries, 14 QB hurries and 5 field goal blocks as a senior in 2025. • Racked up 102 stops, 12 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries as a junior in 2024, while helping Bastrop achieve its first district title since 2009. NOTABLE • Was defensive MVP in Texas' Class 5A, Division 2 District 11 in 2025. • Selected to the Texas Sports Writers Associa- tion Class 5A all-state first team defense in 2024. • Earned Padilla Poll Coaches 5A Division II sec- ond-team all-state accolades in 2024. • Made the honor roll in high school. RECRUITMENT • Committed to the Fighting Irish on May 10, 2025. • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January. • Chose the Irish over SMU and Southern Cal. • Recruited by former Irish defensive line coach Al Washington. • Visited Notre Dame six times, including his official visit on June 23, 2025. 2026 PROJECTION • Hola is projected to redshirt. THEY SAID IT Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power: "Hola is a physical, active defensive line prospect. From a skill set perspective, we really view his strengths as block destruction and his ability to take on and occupy offensive linemen. I really like his projection as a nose tackle type long term. I think he'll easily hit north of 300 pounds. "When you watch his film, you see that he's physical at the point of attack, has very strong hands and shows the ability to disengage and make plays on the ball as a run defender. I also like that he's active on kick block units. "It's easy to see why — from a team-building perspective — you'd want to have a player with his skill set. Hola is at his best as an early-down run-defending nose tackle, given his ability to take on and disrupt blocks. "Moving forward, we want to see him continue to improve athletically. He's at his best playing in a phone booth right now, but there's certainly a clearly defined role that he can play." Hola found himself in the backfield often during his senior season at Bastrop (Texas) High, compiling 11 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 14 quarterback hurries. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY