Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2026 33 BY MIKE SINGER The Fighting Irish landed a pledge from Choctaw (Okla.) High's Titus Hawk May 4, giving Notre Dame its first tight end commitment in the 2027 cycle. The Irish offered Hawk, who stands 6-7 and 215 pounds, last May and he visited for the first time the following month for Notre Dame's Irish Invasion camp. He was a standout performer among a loaded tight end group. Hawk's second visit to South Bend was last November to see the Irish blow out Navy, and his third trip occurred the weekend of April 25, which led to his commitment. "Just the culture and everything about it, the school, the people," Hawk told Rivals' Steve Wiltfong about his commitment. Notre Dame assistant tight ends coach Harris Bivin and offensive coor- dinator Mike Denbrock led the charge to convince Hawk the Irish was his best choice. In late April, Bivin and director of recruiting Carter Auman had a suc- cessful home visit with Hawk. "Coach [Marcus] Freeman is a great coach," Hawk said. "Coach Bivin does a great job with tight ends. Coach Den- brock does an awesome job with the of- fense. I love the way they use their tight ends. I think I'll play a big role in the offense — if it's not early it will be in future." Hawk selected the Fighting Irish over Alabama, Florida, Miami, North Caro- lina, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and West Virginia. "This is a place that can set you up for life with a good degree," Hawk said. "It's not just football. When football's over, you have a lot of time where you have to do other stuff." He is ranked as the nation's No. 28 tight end according to Rivals. As a ju- nior, Hawk caught 31 passes for 644 yards and 8 touchdowns, plus posted 37 rushing yards and 1 score. He was named Oklahoma Prep Nation's 2025 tight end of the year. Hawk's squad fell in the Oklahoma 6A-II state championship game last fall, but they won it the year prior. He hauled in 20 passes for 365 yards and 7 touchdowns as a sophomore and added a rushing score. Don't be surprised if Hawk plays baseball at Notre Dame as well. Listed as a first basemen and outfielder for Choc- taw, Hawk generated a lot of college in- terest for his talent on the diamond and could potentially be selected in the MLB Draft in July. His father, Shane Hawk, is the man- ager of Choctaw's baseball team and played collegiately at Oklahoma State before his professional career. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE TITUS HAWK FILM ANALYSIS "Titus Hawk is a big-framed, athletic tight end who projects well to being a prototypical in-line Y tight end, in the classic sense. He has a tall, high-cut frame, and you see explosiveness within his movement. You have to start with his skill set and the combination of frame and blocking ability. He's a violent, willing blocker. You see him being employed as a key blocker on a lot of plays. They'll pull him and he'll be the lead blocker, paving the way for end arounds and traditional run plays. "He projects really well as a run blocker with his physicality. He's eager to initiate contact. His size, athleticism and physicality projects well for the next level. He has plenty of room to add good mass and strength to his frame once he gets to Notre Dame's strength program. "For a guy who is advanced as a blocker, he has the athleticism and ability to make plays as a pass catcher. He wins in contested catch situations and is twitchy with the ball in his hands after the catch. He's not one who is a high-volume target, so there's projection in terms of his versatility that'd he bring, but he's a traditional Y tight end and will be a plus blocker. "He's not a one-trick pony. He'll be a well-rounded tight end and will fit in that role of Eli Raridon. You see Mitchell Evans in his game as well. He's a pro-style tight end who adds a defined skill set to Notre Dame's tight end room." — Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power Notre Dame Goes Into Oklahoma For 2027 Tight End "I love the way they use their tight ends. I think I'll play a big role in the offense — if it's not early it will be in future." HAWK ON NOTRE DAME Hawk, the No. 28 tight end nationally per Rivals, could also play baseball for the Fighting Irish. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY