2026 OL Benjamin Eziuka Blown Away By Notre Dame Atmosphere

Benjamin Eziuka‍ had been looking forward to returning to South Bend since a trip to Notre Dame for its Big Man Camp this summer.

The 2026 Michigan offensive lineman got his chance to return when he made the trip back down for the Irish’s game against Pittsburgh last month.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pounder had the chance to reconnect with Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and offensive line graduation assistant Rob Delaney.

“It seemed like they made an effort to talk to me, which is big,” the Catholic Central High School standout said. 

“(Rudolph) was just saying hi, just talking about how the playoffs are going. He was saying how he can't wait to have me back at camp this year and just saying he can't wait to watch my film when the season's over.”

Eziuka was impressed with the atmosphere for the game.

“The atmosphere was a lot better than I thought,” he acknowledged. “I knew the fans would be really good and really pumped up, but it was just a lot better than I expected. I’ve never really seen anything like it. All the fans doing the push ups after the touchdowns, I've never seen anything like that. That was insane. 

“Being next to the student section, they were riled up the entire game. They stayed. Even though it was a blowout, they were still out there supporting, which really showed a lot. The event as a whole was probably my favorite event that I've been to for recruiting.”

He was also impressed with the Irish’s performance in their 58-7 win over the Panthers.

“They just dominated from start to finish,” Eziuka said. “They were just dominant and the offensive line just kept pounding guys and they were always finishing their blocks on every play. The wide receivers were coming down with the tough grabs. Quarterback was making great decisions, running backs were running hard. It was just a complete effort throughout.

Eziuka has early offers from Eastern Michigan, Central Michigan, Miami-Ohio and Toledo. He plans to return to South Bend again.

“I'll definitely be back for camp in the summer. I'm not sure if I'll be there before or not. It's definitely a place where I'd like to return and hopefully can receive an offer too because definitely somewhere I'm very interested in.”

He also could make his way to Wisconsin at some point this month.

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