2026 Notre Dame OL Target Tyler Merrill A Big Joe Rudolph Fan

After camping at Notre Dame over the summer, Tyler Merrill‍ was invited to come to any Irish game he wanted to this fall.

And the 6-foot-5, 300-pounder chose this weekend.

“I know Joe Rudolph really well because he recruited me when he was at Virginia Tech,” the 2026 Pennsylvania offensive lineman tells Irish Sports Daily. “I've been keeping in touch with him. Me and my family decided it was good for our schedule to come up during USC and check out Notre Dame play since that was a pretty big game. I'm excited.”

Merrill’s offer sheet already includes schools like Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Nebraska, South Carolina, Pitt and Syracuse among others.

He was impressed during his first trip to Notre Dame.

“I really liked the campus,” he says. “The campus was beautiful. It didn't feel modern. It felt rich with football, if that makes sense. It just felt just like a place where you'd go to play football. 

“It was amazing to go there and check out all the culture that they had there and hearing about the alumni. It was definitely cool and I definitely want to learn more about Notre Dame.”

He’s always been a fan of Rudolph.

“Oh, he's an awesome guy,” Merrill says of the Irish offensive line coach. “You can relate to him on any level; emotional, just talking about family. You can talk about ball with him. He's an easy guy to talk to. He's approachable. 

“He'll be stern with you, but he'll make sure you understand what he's saying. I think he's a great coach. I think nothing but the world of him.”

Rudolph and other coaches gave Merrill some tips this offseason.

“I've been told by him and other coaches as well, that flexibility is something that you want to work on,” says Merrill. “ He really emphasized what he works on with his guys is core stability. So that's what I've been working on this season and what I'll continue to be working on this offseason, just quickness and core and being able to stay stable and balanced.

Merrill has been to a pair of Penn State games so far this season and one Syracuse game. He expects to be at Ohio State next month. 

It’s early, but Merrill is hoping to have a final decision a little over a year from now.

“I want to have everything laid out for me by the end of my junior year and be able to consider all the options that I have and then be able to go through them thoroughly and not just focus on football, but academics and how far the school is away,” he says. “Notre Dame has checked some of the boxes for me already so have a lot of other schools. 

“I feel like I can benefit off of the time by just visiting every place, seeing what they have to offer and then writing it down in a book or somewhere and just thoroughly going over it through next year before I make a decision.”