Top 2026 LB Cincere Johnson Keeping Up With Notre Dame
Cincere Johnson is excited about the Class of 2026 now taking center stage in the college football recruiting world.
“First, I just got to give all my praises to The Man above,” the top 2026 Ohio linebacker told Irish Sports Daily. “Growing up as a young kid, you'll never think you would be in this position right now, so I have to give all my glory to Him to just be in this position.”
Over the past several months, the Glenville High School star has received several scholarship offers from schools like Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Florida State, Texas A&M and UCLA among several others.
But with the majority of the 2025 recruiting class having now signed, the idea that his class is up is still kind of surreal to Johnson.
“My thoughts are just this came super fast,” Johnson laughed. “I'm just blessed. I'm just allowing God to lead me and my heart and my family in the right direction to choose the right school and I'm excited.”
Marcus Freeman, Al Washington and Max Bullough have been selling Johnson for months now and Johnson is listening.
“I just keep watching Notre Dame in the Playoffs,” said Johnson. “I see they have the seventh seed in the Playoffs, so I'm excited. I just keep watching them and keep in contact with the coaches; Coach Wash, Coach Freeman and Coach Bullough, so just taking all that stuff into account.”
The message from the Irish to Johnson has been to be different.
“Just keep coming,” Johnson said of what the Irish say. “Shock the world. As an Ohio kid, everybody thinks that I'm going to Ohio State, so they just keep it in my back of my mind to just be different. Just keep coming down, keep learning more about the program, stay in contact, keep producing on the field and just be different.”
The blend of athletics and academics Notre Dame can offer is certainly appealing to Johnson.
“The network and the alumni and just the program,” he said of what he likes. “Notre Dame has been dominating for years.
“Then when you look at it outside of football, Notre Dame, a prestigious college. If you go anywhere and say that you graduated from Notre Dame, that really means something. Just the networking that Notre Dame have with NBC and Peacock and just an alumni base that runs so deep. It's just so rich with so much history. That stands out to someone who knows that football ends at some period of time, but with the knowledge and the graduation of Notre Dame, it can set you up for life.”
Johnson hopes to hit some Junior Days in the coming months, including Notre Dame’s, but said he’ll get back to South Bend eventually either way.
“I want to cut it down after hitting the junior days, after I publish my film and keep in contact with the coaches. I definitely want to cut it down real soon. I was actually just having that conversation with my family and my coaching staff. It's getting to the point where it's getting serious and I think it's time to cut it down.”
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Under Armour White Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2024 Shamrock Series Polo
