2026 DE Jermaine Kinsler Earns MVP, Talks Notre Dame

HACKENSACK, N.J. - Jermaine Kinsler‍ has dozens of scholarship offers and is already rated as one of the nation’s top prospects in the Class of 2026.

But that didn’t stop the New Jersey defensive lineman from coming out to the Under Armour Next Football Camp Series here at Hackensack High School on Sunday.

And the Bergen Catholic star was awarded Defensive Line MVP honors for his efforts.

The award isn’t likely to get the 6-foot-7, 250-pounder much more attention from college coaches, but only because he’s already had plenty.

Kinsler’s offer sheet includes schools like Notre Dame, Penn State, Miami, Florida, Florida State, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin, South Carolina and Tennessee among others.

Kinsler’s Irish offer came as part of Notre Dame’s Pot of Gold Day push on St. Patrick’s Day.

“It was a surreal moment, really,” he said of the offer from Notre Dame. “I've been watching that school ever since I was a little kid. 

“I heard good things about the campus and everything. I can't wait to get up there and visit it.”

He doesn’t have anything locked in yet, but does have one date circled in his mind.

“I think I'm going to be up there for the home opener,” he said, referring to the Irish’s Sept. 7th contest against Northern Illinois.

Kinsler has kept in steady communication with Irish defensive line coach Al Washington and defensive line assistant Nick Sebastian.

“He's a really caring person,” Kinsler said of Washington. “(Sebastian) has been contacting me a lot too. All of them are good guys.

“They’re really just asking how I'm doing in school and workouts and everything really.”

He’s looking forward to connecting when he does get to South Bend.

“I just want to meet Coach Al in person, get a really close relationship with him because I really like the school,” he said before adding that he’s also hoping to get a feel for what the family atmosphere is like within the program and the school.

As of now, Kinsler’s only set plans include a visit to Rutgers, but he’s certain to add more dates.

Relationships are going to be key when decision time comes.

“Just the bond with my position coach and the head coach,” said Kinsler of what the biggest factors in his recruitment are going to be.

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