Class of 2026 four-star recruit Thomas Davis Jr. is gaining significant interest from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, according to Collin Ginnan of On3. According to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Meter, the Irish have a 94.7% chance in nabbing the recruit.
Davis Jr. is a keystone of an awesome defense at Weddington High School in Matthews, North Carolina. He plays with four-star recruit Trajen Odom, committed to Ohio State, junior four-star defensive lineman Aiden Harris, and four-star edge rusher Andrew Harris. Regardless, Davis Jr. has made a name for himself, racking up 123 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, and two sacks, earning a 90 rating on 247Sports and ranking as the seventh-best player in North Carolina.
UGA fans should recognize that name, as his father Thomas Davis Sr. was a stalwart linebacker for the Bulldogs in the early 2000s. In his three years at Georgia, he was selected to the First All-SEC Team in 2003 and 2004 and earned a Consensus All-American selection in 2004.
Davis turned a great college career into a solid pro career. After being drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers in 2005, he played in the league for 15 years as a solid rush linebacker and made three Pro Bowls. He earned an All-Pro selection in 2015 and was a crucial part of the Panther’s Super Bowl run in 2015. He also established himself as a leader, earning the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2014 and the Bart Starr award in 2016.
It’s great for Davis Jr. to have a mentor and a connection like Davis Sr., and if Georgia were to recruit him, they’d have significant leverage.