Tag: Notre Dame recruiting

Another Notre Dame football signee wins state’s player of the year

Another excellent prospect heading to South Bend

It’s not just in-state athlete Mark Zackery IV coming to the Notre Dame football program as a MaxPreps state player of the Year.

Irish 2025 signee [autotag]Nolan James[/autotag] was named as New Jersey’s top player in 2024, as the 5-foot, 10-inch and 200-pound running back dominated the competition. The star carried the ball 243 times for 1,921-yards with 19 touchdowns. Only one game this fall, James didn’t top the 100-yard mark.

Not only that, he caught 27 passes for 340-yards and another 3 scores, going over 2,000 all-purpose yards on the year. Knowing all that, it makes you wonder why he was ranked so low in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, as just the No. 710 overall player in the country. At one point in time he was committed to Boston College, so it’s not like he was an unknown commodity.

Regardless of his ranking, James put up video game stats, as he prepares to head to South Bend. While he’s going to be joining a crowded room, the coaching staff has shown that they’ll play younger players early if they are ready.

Oct 4, 2024; Ramsey, New Jersey, United States; DePaul football at Don Bosco. DP #1 Nolan James Jr. avoids a tackle.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame football signee named states top player by MaxPreps

The Irish got a good one

Notre Dame football got a big in-state recruiting win when Ben Davis High School star [autotag]Mark Zackery IV[/autotag] committed then signed with the Irish.

The 5-foot, 11-inch and 165-pound cornerback is viewed as one of the best prospects across the country, ranking as the No. 174 overall player according to the 247Sports Composite Ranking.

Zackery’s senior season was impressive, enough so for him to be named the state’s Player of the Year by MaxPreps. According to their website, the future Notre Dame star had 62 tackles, a sack, 8 interceptions with 4 tackles-for-loss.

During his high school career, Zackery had a very impressive 14 total interceptions, showing that he knows what to do when the ball is in the air. The expectations should be fairly high for his career with the Irish, as he is one of the top ranked players signed during the 2025 recruiting cycle.

It wouldn’t surprise me at all for Zackery to see early playing time, setting up a big second season in South Bend.

Notre Dame commit Mark Zackery IV has a 100-yard pick-six in opener
Ben Davis ‘ Mark Zackery IV (4) attempts to catch a pass Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, during a game between Cathedral and Ben Davis at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame football makes the top-6 for 4-star Florida wide receiver

This would be a big recruiting win for the Irish

There are more than a few areas where Notre Dame football had needed to step up in recruiting, when head coach Marcus Freeman took over.

One of the was at quarterback, but it seems like the Irish have fixed that area. Another was at wide receiver, which is still a work in progress. Notre Dame hasn’t quite gotten over the hump with the pass catchers, but that could be changing in the 2026 cycle.

Florida wide receiver [autotag]Naeem Burroughs[/autotag], a 5-foot, 11-inch and 160-pound prospect narrowed his list down to 6 teams, with the Irish making the cut. As the nation’s No. 59 overall player according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, he’s going to be a game-changer for whichever program ends up signing him.

Hopefully that program resides in South Bend, as they could use a shifty, speedy slot receiver. It seems like Burroughs already has an idea of when and what he is looking for, so don’t expect this recruitment to drag on much longer.

Bolles’ Naeem Burroughs (3) hauls in a reception for a touchdown score during the second quarter of a high school football matchup Thursday, May 23, 2024 at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville, Fla. Mandarin defeated Bolles 35-14.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame offered two new prospect during the early signing period

The Irish were busy on Wednesday

It flew a bit under the radar on Wednesday afternoon, as Notre Dame football signed its 2025 recruiting class, but also made some moves in the 2026 cycle.

Two new prospects were given offers, defensive end Zavion Griffin-Haynes and jumbo athlete Noah Clark. Each of them being a top prospect and now targets for the Irish.

Griffin-Haynes stands 6-foot, 6-inches while weighing 220-pounds, is ranked as the No. 161 overall prospect in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He has an impressive early offer list from some of the best programs in the country after previously being committed to North Carolina.

As for Clark, he’s 6-foot, 3-inches and 318-pounds, as perfect frame for an interior lineman, as he most likely will play defense at the next level. He’s also ranked fairly high, as the country’s No. 242 overall prospect. Clark also has an impressive offer list.

These are two recruitments to watch for Notre Dame, as they look to assemble an impressive 2026 class.

Day after: Final thoughts on Notre Dame’s win over USC and its future
Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with players at the end of the game against the Southern California Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame photographer lauds women’s basketball student turnout

This is great to see.

When you photograph Notre Dame women’s basketball games for over 30 years, you tend to pick up on certain things. That’s the case for longtime Notre Dame photographer Matt Cashore. He graduated from the university in 1994 and has stuck around capturing the sights of campus ever since.

Among Cashore’s most prominent photographers have taken place at the athletic events on campus. That includes women’s basketball games, and he noticed one thing in particular during the Irish’s overtime win over Texas. That one thing was more students attending such a game than he could remember, and he took to social media to make that known.

It’s great to know that the Notre Dame students have started to take notice of a team that has national championship dreams this season. The men’s basketball team has to wait another season for arguably the best 2025 recruiting class in the country to arrive, so the women’s basketball team will do just fine this year:

The Irish need the students’ support if for no other reason than to make Purcell Pavilion an intimidating place for opponents. Hopefully, that will be the case by season’s end.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

FIW Exclusive: Interview with 2026 Notre Dame commit Sullivan Garvin

We got the inside scoop on the Irish’s latest commit.

Notre Dame now has five commits in its 2026 recruiting class. The newest is three-star interior offensive lineman [autotag]Sullivan Garvin[/autotag] from Allegan, Michigan, which is little more than an hour and a half’s drive from South Bend. Garvin made his announcement one day after National Signing Day for the 2025 class.

Although Garvin received offers from other programs after the Irish presented him with theirs Sept. 28, there was no doubt in his mind about where he wanted to go. So [autotag]Joe Rudolph[/autotag] has his first commit in this particular recruiting class.

Being the Irish’s latest commit, Garvin made the interview rounds in the hours after announcing his decision. Fighting Irish Wire was lucky to be one of the outlets to be granted an interview with him. This was made possible after communication with Tracy Garvin, his mother who took notice of us on social media when we reported on his offer from the Irish.

Here’s what Garvin had to tell us:

Our thanks to the Garvins for their time and effort with this, and we hope the younger Garvin has a fruitful career with the Irish.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89

Notre Dame football lands another 2026 commitment, its first on the offensive line

The Irish are starting off hot with their 2026 recruiting

With the ink just starting to dry from the 2025 recruiting class signing on Wednesday, Notre Dame football can officially start to look towards the 2026 cycle.

Well, you can say that they’ve already done a great job, with four commits, but now you can make it five. On Thursday morning, Michigan offensive lineman [autotag]Sullivan Garvin[/autotag] committed to the Irish.

The 6-foot, 5-inch and 300-pounder has a decent offer list that consist of Washington, Indiana, Purdue and others, but didn’t need any more as he made his decision to commit to Notre Dame.

As the nation’s No. 444 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, Garvin’s ranking might not be as high as you’d like to see, but that may not matter. The Irish have done a great job at identifying offensive line talent over the years, so if he is a take for Notre Dame, he’s got to be a solid player.

Five thoughts on Notre Dame after wild Week 6 in college football
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman warms up during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024, in South Bend.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Marcus Freeman explains why elite LB Madden Faraimo signed with Notre Dame

A great reason to choose ND

Notre Dame football got a massive recruiting win during the early signing period when California linebacker [autotag]Madden Faraimo[/autotag] signed with the Irish.

It didn’t look like the 6-foot, 3-inch and 230-pound prospect was headed to South Bend, as many believed that he was going to end up going to USC. The recruiting insiders intel turned out to be false, and many wondered how the tide turned for Notre Dame.

Head coach Marcus Freeman was asked this question when he joined 247Sports national signing day show. He told them that “I often tell people to choose hard when they come to Notre Dame. And he (Faraimo) answered me with ‘Coach, I’m gonna choose God.”

It’s not just the education that Notre Dame offers or the 4-for-40 year plan, it was Faraimo’s faith that pushed him to sign with the Irish. There is no doubt in my mind this will work out for the nation’s No. 61 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, as the Irish checked off all of his recruiting boxes.

Oct. 15, 2022; South Bend, Indiana; A general view of the Word of Life Mural, commonly known as Touchdown Jesus, on the campus of the University of Notre Dame before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium. Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame football lands massive commitment during the early signing period

Huge recruiting win for the Irish

Heading into Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period, Notre Dame football looked like they were on the outside looking in for star linebacker [autotag]Madden Faraimo[/autotag].

All signs pointed to the 6-foot, 3-inch and 230-pound elite prospect to signing with USC, as multiple crystal ball picks were made for the Trojans to win out his recruitment.

Well, the nation’s No. 61 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings shocked many and committed to Notre Dame early in the afternoon. This was a massive recruiting win for the Irish, as not only did they win out over their rival Trojans, but also teams like Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and others.

Faraimo’s commitment is the cherry on top of a class that will finish inside the top-15 nationally according to the 247Sports Composite Team Rankings. It also continues a nice trend with Californian linebackers, as the Irish signed Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa last year, and elite players at the position. Just in the last few years, they’ve also signed Drayk Bowen, and Jaylen Sneed.

This group is deep and talented, and just got much better with the addition of Faraimo.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates a turnover during a NCAA college football game against Virginia at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen

Notre Dame receives bad news for one of its top remaining 2025 targets

Not great with the early signing period just around the corner

With just a few open spots left in Notre Dame football’s 2025 recruiting class, one has been left for star California linebacker [autotag]Madden Faraimo[/autotag].

The Irish have made the 6-foot, 3-inch and 230-pound defenders final list, but it looks like they might be losing out on his recruitment. The nation’s No. 61 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings was crystal balled to the USC Trojans on Monday afternoon by two of 247Sports top insiders, Tom Loy and Blair Angelo.

Previously all of the projections had Faraimo landing in South Bend, but as the early signing period approaching fast, it looks like they Irish will have to work some magic for him the end up in the class.

Currently, Notre Dame has just one linebacker committed in the 2025 class, Ko’o Kia, so getting another was always in the cards. Now it looks like the Irish will have to look to other prospects to fill that spot.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts in the first half against the Southern California Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Mike on X: @MikeFChen