Notre Dame Gives 2025 DL Jalen Wiggins Plenty To Think About

If this weekend’s trip to Notre Dame was a fact-finding mission for Jalen Wiggins‍, it was mission accomplished for the 2025 Florida defensive lineman.

“I think this was a very eventful weekend,” Wiggins said of his official visit. “I took in a lot of information, which was very key and there was nothing else for me to ask at that point.

“It was good. I had a really great time. I met a lot of people. I really enjoyed myself.”

The people stood out as much as anything to the James Rickards High School star.

“The people, and then the family aspect was really important,” Wiggins said. “I think that was the one thing I really took away was just meeting a lot of people and seeing how nice they were and then seeing the connections that you can make off the school alone. That was cool.”

Wiggins, who has been committed to Florida since January, felt like he would fit in with the people in South Bend.

“Most definitely,” he said. “I got a chance to talk to a couple of the commits, as well as their parents too. It was cool to get around them and see their whole idea of just being at the school, being around people who want to support you. I really did appreciate that, meeting a lot of the recruits and then even some of the players.”

Meeting with Adam Sargent, Associate Director of Academic Services for Student-Athletes, and one of the deans of the Engineering Department was also informative.

“It was cool to get around them and just talk about the structure of the program, how there's nothing easy,” Wiggins said. “But, they have the full support that'll help you get wherever you want to go.”

Wiggins spent a great deal of time around Irish defensive line coach Al Washington before a one-on-one meeting with Marcus Freeman Sunday morning. 

“(The meeting with Washington) was good,” Wiggins said. “It was mainly a meeting of how I would fit into the program and what Notre Dame can also do for me.

“Coach Freeman's message was, this is a great opportunity for me to be able to come in and make an early impact. He was letting me know this is a business, so whatever decision I make, make sure I make sure it's the right one for me.”

The 6-foot-5, 250-pounder’s potential to make an early impact is a big reason the Irish have been focused on Wiggins for so long now.

“That's been the one thing they've expressed to me all week,” said Wiggins. “They've been telling me they don't have anybody who looks like me or is able to have that type of ceiling. Being able to go into that aspect is just really what they've been pushing for me.”

Wiggins has kept open the possibility of also visiting Florida State, but that may not happen.

“I'm not sure,” he said. “Maybe, but I haven't had anything set up as of right now.”

Wiggins may not have a final decision until the end.

“As of now, it's just about going back and reflecting on my decision and seeing if that's the choice I want to make, so by Signing Day, I want to make sure it's right for me.”

One thing is clear, the Irish didn’t leave any unanswered questions.

“No. Definitely not.”

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