ISD Intel | Behind The Scenes Of Notre Dame Recruiting

In the wake of the loss to Northern Illinois way back in September, things didn’t just look bleak, they felt bleak. 

Because, well, things were bleak.

But in the aftermath, we didn’t get one sneak peek behind the curtain to the fire that was beginning to burn by those inside the program, who could see the path the Irish would ultimately take, even if it was difficult to see at the time.

As Marcus Freeman always talks about now, the Irish had been coming off the highest of highs only to find themselves in the lowest of lows. By the middle of Purdue week, it was clear, the focus had been snapped back to worrying about what they could control while also understanding that all had not been lost yet. 

“All we’ve got to do though is control what we do against Purdue,” this insider told Irish Sports Daily. “Get back on the winning track. We're already 18th in the country. It's not like we fell out of being in the top 25. We’re 18th in the country.”

Then, the source allowed themselves to begin looking down the road just a bit and when they did, they got rolling.

“If we can win Purdue and beat Miami and set up a Louisville home game that's going to be two top 15 teams playing each other,” the source continued. 

Although that Sept. 28th matchup would be between a 15th-ranked Louisville and 16th-ranked Notre Dame squad, the source wasn’t far off.

“Win that game, we'll get to a bye week and we'll be 12th in the country,” the insider continued.

After beating Louisville, the Irish only jumped up to #14, although Notre Dame found itself tied at #11 in the AP Poll coming out of the bye.

“Everyone's going to love us again,” the source said, now picking up steam. “And oh man, look at this stretch. We’ve got Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Florida State, Virginia Army, and USC boy, we can really make the playoffs and no one gives a **** anymore. No one gives a ***** *** about what happened last week.”

For all they got right, the source got that last part wrong. Nobody ever lost sight of what happened the week prior, least of all the Irish, who have used it as fuel ever since.

Reminded of the mini-rant following the win over Indiana, the source offered a much more focused, yet similarly optimistic view at what lies ahead now.

“Just beat the Bulldogs,” they said. “Beat the Bulldogs. Beat the Bulldogs, and I think we could do it.”

PLAYOFF RUN HELPING WITH RECRUITING: Not surprisingly, the Irish’s current Playoff run has benefitted the Irish on the recruiting trail. 

“It's huge,” one source told ISD this week. “Absolutely huge.”

Whether that will pay tangible dividends in the end remains to be seen and in reality, will be almost impossible to know for sure, but it’s certainly giving Notre Dame recruiters a boost in their sales pitches.

“You can come here and win,” one source said simply of the pitch.

“This is the place to be.”

The source acknowledged that at times in the past, the pitch on competing for national titles has been less tangible and a bit more hopeful. 

“Now it's more a reality, which helps.”

What has the response to that pitch from recruits been lately?

“Great response.”

NICHOLS BIG, IF NOT SURPRISING, GET: Ben Nichols‍ announced his commitment to Notre Dame on Christmas Eve, but the 2026 Michigan offensive lineman offered it to the Irish privately weeks earlier. 

So if it was an early Christmas gift for the Irish, it was a real early one.

Nonetheless, Notre Dame is absolutely stoked about adding Nichols, who chose the Irish over Penn State, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan State, Ohio State, Iowa, Alabama and Florida State.

“I think he's one of the best guards in the country,” one source said of the 6-foot-5, 315-pounder. “Wide body, physical.”

Nichols joins fellow Michigan native, Sullivan Garvin‍, to give the Irish a pair of their top offensive line targets in the Class of 2026 already. 

The source also said it was “100 percent” a big deal to get two of the top offensive linemen in the state of Michigan to choose Notre Dame. 

“If we can get three, it'd be great,” the source added.

The third, of course, would be Gregory Patrick‍. 

Notre Dame would love to add the 6-foot-5, 280-pound Patrick to the group. Patrick has a strong connection with Nichols and is expected to increase his relationship with Garvin through training soon. 

Still Notre Dame is going to need to beat out Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska for Patrick and Irish sources aren’t sure they sit at the top of the list at the moment, so they likely have ground to make up. 

QUICK PEEK AHEAD: If you talked to people inside the Notre Dame Football program prior to the season, they didn’t just think the Irish could make a run to the Playoffs, they expected it.

That’s not to say they assumed it, though. They knew it would be difficult and that it was no guarantee, but they were confident they had the kind of team that could win at least 11 games. Now, would they have picked the exact 11 wins and single loss correctly? Not a chance, but in general, they were right.

At the time, the 2025 season was a ways down the road - it still is, honestly - but sources then would have acknowledged that season presenting some different challenges, specifically a lack of experience at key positions. 

In 2026, the Irish could be looking at the best collection of talent and experience they’ve had during Marcus Freeman’s tenure in South Bend. 

But 2025 is no longer being viewed as some bridge year between 2024 and 2026. 

Recent portal pickups will certainly help.

We were told earlier in the week that the Irish saw the additions of Virginia receiver Malachi Fields and Alabama defensive back DeVonta Smith as “huge” and “massive.”

Fields is the type of player who could be a “true number one” receiver while Smith will compete to be the starting nickel right away. 

And with Christmas landing in the middle of the week, we didn’t even get a chance to hear our sources weigh in on the additions of tight end Tyus Washington and receiver Will Pauling. 

We did speak to a source close to the Arkansas program to get his take on Washington. The consensus opinion seems to be that Washington is absolutely physically capable of performing at a high level. Nobody we’ve talked to has suggested he is a bad kid by any means. There certainly seems to be some disconnect on exactly what led to his dismissal from the Razorbacks, but even those who place a larger portion of the blame on Washington can easily envision him flourishing in a new setting.

Still, the focus now remains on the 2024 season.

And it’s a singular focus at the moment.

“Just beat the Bulldogs.”

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