Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 APRIL/MAY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY After more than 21 months between trips to Notre Dame, Springfield (Mass.) Central four-star running back Isaiah Rogers pledged to the Fighting Irish March 30. Rogers' decision to play college football for Notre Dame came after he unofficially visited March 21 for the program's junior day recruiting event. He first expressed interest in Notre Dame by traveling to campus for the program's Irish Invasion high school prospect camp June 2, 2024. However, since then, Rogers closely considered schools like Georgia, In- diana and Penn State. But one visit to South Bend is all it took for him to fall back in love with the Irish. "The visit really opened my eyes to a lot of things," Rogers told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "Not just for football, but after football — the networking and the Notre Dame degree. "But also with football, what [running backs] Coach [Ja'Juan] Seider has done, what Coach [Marcus] Freeman has done. I mean, Coach Seider is sending four run- ning backs to the league now. It really opened my eyes to a lot of opportunities." According to Rivals, Rogers is the No. 2 prospect in Massachusetts, and the No. 20 running back and No. 275 overall player nationally in the junior class. Be- fore he locked in his spot with the Irish, Rogers held offers from 15 other Power Four schools. He planned to officially visit Georgia, Indiana and Penn State in June, but ultimately couldn't pass up the opportunity to play for Notre Dame. "I just felt like the time was right," he said. "All my boxes were checked and more. My mom loved it as well. I didn't need to keep going through my recruit- ment because I felt like I found home." Seider offered him on March 17, 2025, during the program's since-retired St. Patrick's Day-themed Pot of Gold Day recruiting event. While he had been on the job in South Bend for about a month at that point, he had a preexisting rela- tionship with Rogers dating back to his time at Penn State. Rogers' connection with Seider was a driving force in his decision. The rising senior has full belief in Seider's ability to develop him at the next level while also compet- ing for championships. "I mean, 110 percent be- cause it's proven," Rogers said. "Coach Seider has developed backs from Penn State and even now at Notre Dame. It's not a question of whether I'm going to be developed and compete for a national championship. They do that every year. "Obviously, they didn't make the College Football Playoff — they were probably one spot short, and they should have made it. But the year before that, they were in the College Football Playoff championship. I fully believe that they are ready to compete for a na- tional championship." Rogers put together a dominant ju- nior season just a few months ago. In 10 games, he totaled 1,504 yards from scrimmage (1,217 rushing, 287 receiv- ing) with 21 touchdowns (18 rushing, 3 receiving). That production came on 137 carries and 17 catches for a 9-2 Spring- field (Mass.) Central team that lost in the Division 1 state semifinal. As a sophomore, Rogers registered 804 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 63 carries. He also added 5 catches for 61 yards and 1 score. Rogers is an exceptional track and field athlete. Last winter, he recorded a personal-best 6.61 seconds in the 55-meter dash. On the outdoor circuit, he clocked a 10.74 in the 100 meters and 37.6 in the 300 meters last spring. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE ISAIAH ROGERS FILM ANALYSIS "Isaiah Rogers has a lot of the physical ath- letic traits you look for at the running back position. For starters, he's physically devel- oped between 5-10 and 5-11 and around 210 pounds. He has a strong base that you like to see in running backs, and that projects well to being a high-volume ball carrier at the next level. "You look at his athleticism, and he's run in the 10.5's in the 100 meters and has tested well in the combine setting. That put him on our radar very early. He's been in the Rivals300 for the majority of the cycle. We really like the natural tools and running back traits he has. "Rogers has very good side-to-side lateral agil- ity, can pick his way through the line, and has the top-end speed to hit an extra gear and out- run defenders when he gets to the second level. We really like the position-specific skill set." — Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power Massachusetts Running Back 'Couldn't Pass Up' Opportunity At Notre Dame Rogers, the No. 2 prospect in Massachusetts and No. 20 running back in the 2027 class, committed to Notre Dame over defending national champion Indiana, Georgia and Penn State. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER "All my boxes were checked and more. My mom loved it as well. I didn't need to keep going through my recruitment because I felt like I found home." ROGERS