2025 RB Daniel Anderson Goes In-Depth On Notre Dame Commitment

It was an important decision, but in the end, it didn’t seem all that difficult and Daniel Anderson‍ announced his commitment to Notre Dame prior to the Irish’s game against Ohio State on Saturday night.

“As I was just discussing everything with my mom and my family and just really thinking about life after football and what will come next for me, I just decided that Notre Dame was the best fit for me for academics and athletics,” the 2025 Arkansas running back told Irish Sports Daily.

Anderson had the opportunity to let everybody know about his decision while in town for the Ohio State game.

“I was very excited and it was something that you would never expect you'd do,” he said. “I was honored to be able to let everyone know, especially Coach (Marcus) Freeman, that I'd be joining their group.

“It felt very welcoming just to know that everybody there supported my decision and everybody there would be looking forward to playing with me.”

Anderson joins fellow running back Justin Thurman‍ in the Irish’s 2025 recruiting class along with quarterback Deuce Knight‍, defensive ends CJ May‍ and Joseph Reiff‍ along with defensive tackle Davion Dixon‍. All of the 2025 commits were in South Bend for the game on Saturday.

“I really liked getting to meet all of them,” he said. “I just really enjoyed the atmosphere that they all brought. I'm looking forward to playing with those guys who I met.”

Running backs coach Deland McCullough was a big part in Anderson choosing the Irish over offers from schools like Tennessee and Mississippi State among others.

“I love the way he has his running back system structured,” Anderson said. “He has multiple running backs who will all touch the ball and everybody has a part to play. It's not just one guy showing up everybody. Everybody's going to get some play time. Everybody's going to do a job and get it done. I like the way he goes about that.

Head coach Marcus Freeman also played a big role in the decision.

“I love how genuine he is and how much he talks about life after football because it's not all just about playing ball,” he said. “You need to know what you're going to do after football is over and just the way he includes everybody. We're all his own family.”

Anderson embraces the role of being somebody people like his younger brother can look up to.

“I've always loved being a role model to my little brother and to know that he has someone to look up to,” said Anderson. “I always want to be someone who anybody can come to or look up to as just someone who they can connect with about football or anything else.”

Overall, Anderson is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Irish program.

“I'm very honored to be able to call myself a Notre Dame commit and to know that that's where I will be going. I'm just honestly very blessed to be able to go there and have that as an option as my future.”

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