BREAKING | 2026 QB Noah Grubbs Commits To Notre Dame
The field was packed during pregame with elite recruits from across the country, all in town for the biggest college football game of the season to that point.
Primed to go against Ohio State in what may have been his biggest game as a coach to that point, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman saved some of his precious few moments before the primetime showdown for one of the youngest recruits invited to the game.
Freeman got two messages across clearly during a quick interaction with Noah Grubbs.
Freeman was glad the 2026 Florida quarterback made the trip to South Bend and he was going to find a way to keep Grubbs in town for good.
“He was right,” Grubbs told Irish Sports Daily this week. “I'm coming back.”
On Saturday, Grubbs announced his commitment to Notre Dame, choosing the Irish over offers from schools like Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Miami, North Carolina and Texas A&M among many others.
“I visited all the places that I wanted to see for spring practices and Notre Dame was just the only place I really had a special feeling in my heart,” Grubbs said.
“Just everything about the place; not only football, but the school and the atmosphere and the traditions that they have there.”
Grubbs earned an early offer from the Irish after a working out at a camp last summer. Since then, he created strong bonds with Freeman and quarterback coach Gino Guidugli. Mike Denbrock did the same upon his return to South Bend as offensive coordinator this offseason.
“Coach Denbrock being new, I've met him a couple of times and we already have a great relationship,” said Grubbs. “I've been in contact with Coach Gino for about a year now, so we bonded throughout this time. We've been on calls week in, week out.
“Coach Freeman, every time I'm there, I have a meeting with him. To be able to talk to a head coach from Notre Dame, not just about football but just about life in general is big.”
While he hasn’t had as much time to build a bond with Denbrock as the others, Denbrock’s performance in guiding LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to the Heisman Trophy last season certainly caught Grubbs’ eye.
”It shows that he knows how to develop quarterbacks and I definitely trust him behind the play-calling,” said Grubbs. “I think he could take me and my skill level somewhere.”
All of the attention proved how much of a priority Grubbs was for the Irish in their 2026 recruiting class.
“For a school like Notre Dame to show someone that they're their top guy, it's something big,” he said. “It's not an opportunity that a bunch of people get, so I'm not going to take it for granted.”
Grubbs hasn’t identified a concrete list of prospects he wants to bring to South Bend with him yet, but that starts now that he’s announced his commitment publicly.
“It's going to be easier for me to go out and recruit,” he said. “I think I'm going to build this '26 class to be one of the top in the nation, so I'm looking forward to that.”
As much as anything though, Grubbs is excited about the way his process worked out.
“It feels great knowing that Notre Dame's the place for me and having all the opportunities. I'm definitely blessed. It's a child's dream to have something like this. I'm thankful to be living it.”
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