2026 LB Tank King Impressed with Notre Dame's Dominating Defense
2026 Port Arthur Memorial (Texas) linebacker Tank King made his way to Notre Dame on Saturday night to watch the Fighting Irish dismantle Florida State 52-3.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder has been a priority target for Notre Dame and this weekend’s visit was King’s second trip to South Bend in 2024. King had visited for the Blue-Gold Game in April, but he was also in College Station to see Notre Dame top Texas A&M to open the season.
And after seeing Al Golden’s defense up and close twice, King has started to notice specifics and has quickly become familiar with Notre Dame’s suffocating defense.
“I like how each linebacker seems to have a job to do,” King told ISD. “They all get playing time and some are on the field during certain down situations. They all are flying all over the field, making plays just like when they did the first time I saw them play.”
King definitely sees a fit in Notre Dame’s defense as he believes his game would translate well into what Golden does with the Irish backers.
“It's going be a lot to learn going to the next level with college, but I'm going be looking up to the vets to get advice,” said King. “I can bring speed and physical abilities to the team and just being hungry to help the team win at all costs.”
The Texas native also was able to get a better feel for the school, which included listening to a panel of former players and a few parents of current Notre Dame players to gain insight into the recruiting process and why South Bend was a good fit for their families.
“Getting to listen to Tim Brown, Brian Urlacher and Bryant Young talk about their recruiting journey and how their kids went through their recruitment and getting tips on what to look for in a school,” King explained. “It was a good thing to listen to. I’m glad that Notre Dame has that. That was the first school that let us listen to someone who been through the recruiting experience that made it to the next level.”
King also enjoyed his conversations with the Notre Dame staff on Saturday. The message was a simple one, but also filled to gratitude as they know King is in the middle of his season.
“The message was they would love to see me at Notre Dame,” stated King. “They were excited that I came up because I had been staying local for visits because of my football schedule, so they were excited that I made the trip. We are in playoffs so we talked about that and how I fit in their program.”
As for the game, the product on the field spoke for itself, but King really enjoyed the game day environment as a whole.
“The atmosphere was great,” King said. “The student section never sat down. The mascot is 100 percent my favorite.The game under the lights was cool, too. And to watch the defense put pressure on the quarterback was exciting. I was waiting on a sack every play because the defense was everywhere.”
King will now focus on a playoff run and then will look to cut his offer list of over 20 schools down to a top group.
“Next for me is narrowing down Top 5 so I can focus on what program I fit the best in to help win and what school will be a great fit for after football,” said King.
Offers: Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, UCF, Florida, Houston, Incarnate Word, Lamar, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Texas, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, SMU, Stanford, TCU, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas State, Texas Tech, UTEP, UTSA and Washington
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