2026 QB Nathan Bernhard Enjoys First Trip To Notre Dame
Nathan Bernhard is a prospect worth keeping an eye on.
The 2026 Ohio quarterback already has offers from schools like Penn State, Michigan State, Duke, Louisville and Iowa State.
And Notre Dame already has its eye on the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder, who was in South Bend to see the Irish play Pittsburgh.
“It was good,” Bernhard told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “Obviously they played a great game. The atmosphere was great, packed house.”
The Ashland High School standout was impressed with the Irish’s offense during their 58-7 shellacking of the Panthers.
“They started out a little rough at the beginning and then they picked it up and made a lot of big plays,” he said.
This was Bernhard’s first trip to South Bend.
“The campus is really nice,” he said. “It's a beautiful area and definitely pretty cool to see.”
Notre Dame Director of Recruiting Dre Brown extended the invitation through Bernhard’s coach earlier this fall.
“When I got the invite, it was definitely somewhere I wanted to go,” said Bernhard. “It's definitely a place of interest.
“The tradition there and the fact that they're a highly-ranked football team year in year out.”
Bernhard is grateful for the offers he has already.
“It's a blessing to have these opportunities for sure,” he said. “Definitely exciting for what the future holds.”
In addition to Notre Dame, Bernhard has already visited Penn State, Duke, Louisville, Purdue and Michigan State this fall. He expects to hit LSU and Nebraska before the year is out.
College coaches like the package Bernhard brings to the position.
“Obviously my size raises some attention, and then definitely my playmaking ability and ability to extend plays,” he said.
It’s early, but he has an idea of what he’s looking for in a college.
“The culture of the program's the most important by far. The culture of the people within the program, the coaches, the staff, the fan base, everything like that.”
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