Notre Dame Football on the Recruiting Trail | 1.22
The Notre Dame recruiting machine isn’t slowing down following a successful Junior Day as the staff will hit the road on Monday to make several key stops.
Head Coach Marcus Freeman, Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock, Running Backs Coach Deland McCullough and Defensive Line Coach Al Washington
It’ll be a busy day for this group as they’re expected to hit multiple states on Monday. One stop will be to Eureka High School (Mo.) to visit with 2025 offensive lineman Jack Lange, who is fresh off a visit to Notre Dame over the weekend. The Irish seem to be in pole position coming out of Lange’s second visit to campus and the staff will look to ramp it up with a visit to his school.
We also expect the group to make a stop at St. Thomas Aquinas (Kans.) to see 2025 defensive lineman Juju Marks. Marks visited over the summer for the Grill and Chill recruiting event.
Offers: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Miami, Miami (OH), Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Penn State, TCU, Tennessee, Toledo, UNLV, USC, Washington and Wisconsin
The group of coaches will hit Shreveport on Monday to visit with 2025 Calvary Baptist Academy running back James Simon. The four-star prospect ran for 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2023 and visited for the USC game in October. Notre Dame was prepared to take three running backs in the 2023 recruiting class (Jeremiyah Love/Dylan Edwards/Jayden Limar) and it looks like they are open to it in 2025.
Offers: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Auburn, Cal, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Grambling, Houston, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, LSU, Miami, Mississippi State, Missouri, Northwestern State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and USC
Junior Highlights
From there, the Notre Dame foursome will head to Arkansas to visit with 2025 running back commit Daniel Anderson. The three-star prospect remains firmly committed to Irish and is fresh off a weekend trip to South Bend.
The day will wrap up with some basketball as all four coaches will watch 2025 defensive end commit CJ May on the hardwood. May was also back on campus over the weekend for Junior Day.
Quarterbacks Coach Gino Guidugli
As of now, we expect Guidguli to do some area recruiting in the Louisville area.
Wide Receivers Coach Mike Brown
After a week with Marcus Freeman, Brown will venture off by himself on Monday as he’ll hit New Jersey.
Brown will make a stop at DePaul Catholic (N.J.) to see 2025 receiver Elijah Burress, who Notre Dame offered this month and then hosted for Junior Day on Saturday. The four-star prospect enjoyed his time in South Bend and the follow up visit by Brown should show him he’s a major target for the Irish.
And while Burress might not have a loaded offer list as of now, one coach at a Power Five program certainly loves him. “He’s a freak.”
Offers: Cincinnati, Duke, East Carolina, UMass, Notre Dame and Toledo
Junior Highlights
Brown will also make a stop at New Jersey powerhouse Bergen Catholic to see 2025 receiver Quincy Porter. As mentioned last week, Porter visited Notre Dame in the spring and would love to get him back to campus soon.
Offers: Akron, Alabama, Boston College, Charlotte, Duke, East Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Marshall, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Wisconsin
Junior Highlights
Offensive Line Coach Joe Rudolph
Rudolph will make the trip to Missouri to visit with Lange, but then he’ll branch off to make a stop at Nixa High School (Mo.) to check on 2026 offensive lineman Jackson Cantwell. The composite five-star prospect doesn’t hold an offer from Notre Dame yet, but that could change in a hurry for the 6-foot-8, 300-pounder.
Offers: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, Michigan State, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UNLV, USC and Wisconsin
Sophomore Highlights
Cornerbacks Coach Mike Mickens
Mickens will head to the Detroit area to do area recruiting on Monday and he’ll stop by the usual state powerhouses.
We believe Mickens will swing by Belleville to check on 2025 defensive end Rashad Jones. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder holds offers from Cincinnati, Kent State, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, Pitt and Purdue.
It’s also the home of 2025 three-star receiver Adrian Walker Jr., who recorded 524 receiving yards and six touchdowns in 2023. Walker holds offers from Central Michigan, Colorado, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, LSU, Marshall, Miami (OH), Michigan State, Toledo and Western Michigan. The LSU offer is noteworthy as it came in September and Denbrock was still in the Bayou. Now, it’s also worth noting Walker’s teammate is 2025 five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood, who is committed to LSU.
2025 receiver Antwon Thomas transferred from Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and has been someone the Irish have checked on before. The three-star prospect holds offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee State, Toledo and Western Michigan.
2025 linebacker Andre Thomas also attends Belleville and has an offer list of Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan State, Pitt, Toledo and Western Michigan.
Jones Junior Highlights
Walker Junior Highlights
Antwon Thomas Junior Highlights
Andrew Thomas Junior Highlights
Another school Mickens will make an appearance at will be at Martin Luther King High School. The former home of Dante Moore has a couple of prospects to keep an eye on, including 2025 defensive end Xavier Newsom and 2026 receiver Jaquan Stennis. The 6-foot-6 receiver holds multiple Power Five basketball offers and one football offer from Michigan.
Newsom Offers: Central Michigan, Charlotte, Eastern Michigan, Howard, Kansas, Kent State, Louisville, Marshall, Miami (OH), Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Tennessee, Toledo and West Virginia
Newsom Junior Highlights
Mickens is also expected to visit Cass Tech to check on top 2026 athlete CJ Sadler. The Irish haven’t offered the composite five-star, but one would think he’d be a strong candidate to earn one soon.
Offers: Alabama, Arizona State, Charlotte, Colorado, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Pitt, South Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin
Sophomore Highlights
Safeties Coach Chris O’Leary
O’Leary will make an important stop as he’ll be in North Carolina to visit with 2025 Mount Tabor safety JaDon Blair. The Irish have commitments from two safeties, so they can be picky. Blair would be a no-brainer third safety in the class. The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder visited for the Ohio State game, but also caught the Irish multiple times for road games.
Offers: Alabama A&M, Ball State, Charlotte, Duke, East Carolina, Florida State, Georgia Tech, James Madison, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, NC State, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia
Junior Highlights
Special Teams Coordinator Marty Biagi
Biagi will be in familiar grounds to start the week as he’ll hit Louisiana, which was his area when he was at Ole Miss.
We expect him to make a visit to powerhouse Edna Karr to check on 2025 defensive lineman Corey Adams Jr. and 2025 LSU receiver commit TaRon Francis. Adams, a 6-foot-4, 240-pounder, holds offers from Georgia Tech, LSU, Marshall, Miami, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Tulane.
Francis committed to LSU in October and holds offers from Florida A&M, Florida State, Marshall, Michigan, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Troy.
Edna Karr also has a pair of interesting 2026 prospects in defensive lineman Richard Anderson and 2026 safety Aiden Hall. Anderson holds offers from Arkansas State, Florida State, LSU, Ole Miss, Temple and Texas A&M. Hall has been offered by Alabama State, Arkansas, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas, Troy and Tulane.
Adams Junior Highlights
Francis Junior Highlights
Hall Sophomore Highlights
Another stop for Biagi will likely be Destrehan, the alma mater of former Cincinnati and Notre Dame receiver Michael Young Jr....and NFL All-Pro Justin Jefferson.
Destrehan has a few interesting 2025 prospects in cornerback Jhase Thomas and receiver Phillip Wright.
Thomas, the son of former NFL cornerback Fred Thomas, holds offers from Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana Monroe, Ole Miss and Tulane. Wright can fly and ran 10.6 in the 100m last spring. He holds offers from Arkansas, Baylor, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Tulane.
Wright Junior Highlights
Biagi will also check on 2026 St. Augustine (La.) defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, who will challenge to be the nation’s No. 1 player in the recruiting class. The Irish haven’t offered, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see them join the race at some point.
Offers: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Grambling, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, SMU, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and USC
Sophomore Highlights
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