Notre Dame Impresses 2026 RB DeZephen Walker

DeZephen Walker‍ got his first look at Notre Dame on Saturday and the 2026 Missouri running back left impressed with the Irish’s 52-3 blowout win over Florida State. 

“I think the environment, the stadium was amazing,” Walker told Irish Sports Daily. “Coach (Marcus) Freeman and Coach (Deland) McCullough were amazing also. I just liked everything about it.

“I think Notre Dame dominated. I saw them working together as a team and they came up with a big win, so that's good.”

Walker has offers from Notre Dame, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Oklahoma St., Stanford, Oregon, Florida and Georgia among several others. 

He was impressed with the Irish’s running backs.

“I think they're very explosive and I can tell that they know what they're doing and they're being coached very well,” said Walker. “I saw they had a couple big runs that helped the team win, so I can tell they're coached very well and they're good athletes.”

Walker’s father, Demetrios Walker, was paying close attention to the finer details of the running backs.

“They were very intentional when they ran the ball,” he said. “They had purpose and they attacked the line of scrimmage. That's what stood out to me.”

Walker felt it was a system he could succeed in himself.

“As an explosive runner, I think I could fit pretty well to the program, considering that they run the ball a lot and they use their running backs in everything,” he said. “I feel like I could fit in that program pretty well.”

Walker didn’t get too much time around the players and other recruits, so he couldn’t say exactly how well he’d fit in with the group.

“I'll have to come visit here a couple more times to really get an overall answer because this is my first time here, so I wouldn't have that answer right now,” he said. 

He does plan on getting back.

“I want to come to official visit with me and my family to see how that goes,” he said. 

The Raymore-Peculiar will visit Georgia in a couple weeks and isn’t ready to start narrowing his list.

“I'm totally open right now,” he said. “I haven't decided any of that yet.”

But he has decided Notre Dame is worth a continued look.

“I just think it's a wonderful place and I can definitely see myself visiting here again. I liked everything about it.”

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