2026 Safety Kaden Gebhardt Hears Back From Notre Dame
Kaden Gebhardt has been grabbing the attention of college coaches all year.
The 2026 Ohio safety worked out Irish Invasion in June and clearly caught Notre Dame’s attention, which is why he heard from Irish recruiting analyst Deland McCullough II very early on June 15th, the first day colleges could directly reach out to 2026 prospects.
“IIt was probably like 1 o'clock in the morning,” Gebhardt said. “It was crazy.
“It stood out a lot, that's for sure. They're taking the time to call me and when they could be calling a ton of other recruits around the nation, so it means a lot.”
The message from the Irish was a clear one.
“Just that they're excited to get to build a relationship with me,” the Olentangy High School standout said.
Gebhardt, who has added more than a dozen offers since January, already has plans to return to South Bend soon.
“I'm actually going back up to the 25th for the Grill & Chill,” he siad. “That should be good. I'm looking forward to building the relationship with Coach McCullough and then Coach (Mike) Mickens and Al Golden.”
Gebhardt’s offer sheet currently includes schools like Penn State, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Missouri, Purdue, Indiana, Illinois, Duke and Cincinnati among others.
“It's big time,” he said. “It's my dream, but I'm not trying to let it affect me too much. I've just got to keep playing my game.”
He would love to add Notre Dame to that list.
“It would definitely mean a lot,” he said.
He picked up his Penn State offer when he camped in Happy Valley right after Invasion and has plans to return there as well.
“I'm going up to Penn State the 26th for a picnic/barbecue,” he said. “I'm offered by Missouri, so I might go up to Missouri soon too. It just depends, maybe sometime in July.”
He also wants to get to Oklahoma at some point as well.
“That's a school I need to get down there to see what they're all about.”
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