Notre Dame Junior Day Updates
Notre Dame held its first major recruiting event this year with a Junior Day on Saturday.
The Irish hosted more than 20 of their top targets in the Class of 2026, a group that featured several current commits, long-time offered players and prospects who had yet to be offered, although a couple left with offers on Saturday.
Here’s some of the feedback we’ve gathered thus far.
2026 RUNNING BACK JONAZ WALTON
I'm told things "went wonderful" with Georgia running back Jonaz Walton.
This was the farthest school Walton has visited thus far, but one he felt he needed to visit and one he's glad he did.
I'm told everything he saw and experienced was impressive and the way he was received by the community, even those unaffiliated with the University was impressive.
He liked everything he saw, much of which he had trouble putting into words, which I took as a good thing.
He spent A LOT of time with Coach McCullough, another good thing for the Irish. He learned about McCullough as a coach and a father. He also learned that McCullough isn't afraid to play younger players and used Aneyas Williams as an example of a role they could envision Walton playing as a freshman.
Freeman hit on that theme of the people making ND special. Walton agreed and even with just this one visit said it is obvious that the people at ND are different.
As mentioned in this week's Intel, Walton is starting to narrow down his list to a finite number internally. I think ND is better-positioned on the list coming out of the visit than they were coming into it, which says a lot.
You should be hearing a lot more talk about Walton's interest in the Irish being truly legit soon…because it is.
2026 LINEBACKER SIMEON CALDWELL
It's difficult to express how excited 2026 Florida LB Simeon Caldwell is every time he visits Notre Dame and this trip was no different.
"It was amazing as always. I love South Bend, I love ND, I love coaching staff."
While Freeman and the rest of the staff were trying to hammer home the point about the people making ND different, Caldwell came into the trip already knowing that to the point that he probably can express it almost as well as any of the coaches.
He had a chance to speak with the staff about Al Golden leaving. They explained they aren't exactly sure which direction they're going to go and couldn't promise there wouldn't be changes to the scheme, but what they could promise was that regardless of those changes they want him a part of it and believe he could thrive in virtually any system because of his versatility.
You could sense how important it was for him to get that reassurance.
The other special part of today's visit was that it was Caldwell's father's first. Mike Caldwell is the linebackers coach for the Las Vegas Raiders and was previously defensive coordinator for the Jaguars and has haeld several positions over 15+ years in the NFL.
Caldwell's father had the chance to talk ball with Freeman and Bullough and everybody seemed to love it. Getting his father's stamp of approval was also huge for Caldwell.
Caldwell isn't sure what's next for him. He doesn't have any other visits scheduled at this point. He'll talk with his family and figure out his next steps soon.
Hard to envision a way this visit could have gone any better for Caldwell, although that's probably what he expected coming in.
2026 WIDE RECEIVER KAYDON FINLEY
Texas WR Kaydon Finley returned for another visit to Notre Dame. He's visited so many times there is no need to guess about his interest level.
Today's visit went "really, really well...great."
One of the highlights for Finley was getting the chance to have a 1-on-1 chat with Marcus Freeman. Finley is convinced that Freeman is a genuine person and one of the very best coaches in the nation, somebody any player would run through a wall for.
Finley also had the opportunity to speak with 2026 ND QB commit Noah Grubbs. He's excited to build that connection. He believes Grubbs is a great fit for ND and is destined to be a great QB there. He thinks it'd be special to catch passes from Grubbs one day.
Look for Finley to return to ND again in a couple months to check out a spring practice and to set up an official visit when he returns so he can get back yet again.
As for his immediate future, he'll be at Arizona State next Sunday.
2026 WIDE RECEIVER BRAYDEN ROBINSON
2026 WR Brayden Robinson had been waiting a while to check out Notre Dame and Saturday's trip did not disappoint.
The Texan enjoyed the campus tour - it was quiet, something he liked - and also enjoyed getting to see the indoor facility and the inside of Notre Dame Stadium.
During his meeting with WR coach Mike Brown, it was again reiterated to Robinson that he is a priority and somebody high on their board, which they have demonstrated for months, but was good to hear again.
The Irish would see the 5-foot-8, 165-pounder fitting in at slot, but also would move him around to exploit matchups while also being used in the return game.
The academics, according to Robinson, "speaks for itself."
Robinson also connected with Irish QB commit Noah Grubbs, who expressed a desire in getting Robinson to ND. That's big to Robinson because that could mean more targets, he laughed.
Robinson isn't sure what's next. He doesn't have any other visits planned at the moment and will sit down with his parents soon to figure out his top schools.
2026 DEFENSIVE END EBENEZER EWETADE
As I mentioned in this week's Intel, today's offer to Ebenezer Ewetade was more of an Admissions thing than an evaluation thing, but I didn't get the sense it was a done deal coming into the visit, so I'm told he was very excited about getting one.
With offers from schools like Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State, Miami and Duke among others, he's not really at the point where he's visiting schools that haven't already offered, but he made an exception for Notre Dame. He also showed tangible signs in terms of his academic schedule that he made just for ND.
So, this is a kid who is definitely interested in the Irish.
Ewetade learned of the offer, when defensive line coach Al Washington brought him into his office. For Ewetade, it was an offer he’d be hoping to get for a long time.
He left impressed with Washington as a coach and a person, somebody he feels he can trust completely.
Look for Ewetade to be back for spring practice sometime soon, but his next trip is to Georgia on Feb. 1st.
2026 OFFENSIVE LINEMAN EVAN GOODWIN
I'd say Evan Goodwin is pretty fired up about the offer. He learned of it shortly after lunch during a conversation with OL coach Joe Rudolph. They were making small talk and talking football when Rudolph "dropped the bomb" on him out of nowhere.
Goodwin was so excited he couldn't stop smiling and eventually shook Rudolph's hand and gave him a big hug.
It's an offer Goodwin wanted for a while because he understands what it says about him as an athlete and a student.
Goodwin enjoyed the entire day, including the games they had set up for the visitors, the meetings with coaches, including OC Mike Denbrock's meeting with offensive recruits. Denbrock outlined ND's philosophy on GRIT, (grateful, resilient, intense and tough). That aligns pretty well with how Goodwin sees himself.
Goodwin appreciated Marcus Freeman talking about how the people at ND make it special. Goodwin, who camped at ND last summer, sees that and noted that while the coaches are among the best in the nation, he gets the sense that it's the other people surrounding them who truly make it special.
Next up for Goodwin will be official visits to his Top 5 schools. He isn't quite ready to disclose that just yet, but he did tell me he's already requested an official to ND, so safe to say the Irish are in there.
2026 CORNERBACK NICK HANKINS
I'm told everything went very well with Illinois cornerback Nick Hankins today.
He didn't get offered today, but the Irish told him they would be at his school on Monday to check in on him, so who knows? Maybe one could be coming soon.
Hankins currently has offers from schools like Tennessee, Boston College, Stanford, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Iowa State, Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, Northwestern and Wisconsin among others.
Hankins was able to meet with defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, who went over the schemes and techniques the Irish DBs use. Hankins was extremely impressed and excited about how much man-to-man defense the Irish ask their DBs to play with.
He was impressed with the academic presentation and understands the idea of Notre Dame being one of those schools that you can get an Ivy League-type education while competing for a national title.
I'm told the energy from Marcus Freeman was overwhelmingly positive and that he continues to impress families with the development of young men taking priority over football.
Hankins was impressed with the campus and how close everything is and took in the first period of his first hockey game ever.
He'll visit Vanderbilt next Saturday and possibly Purdue next Sunday.
Expect him to be back at Notre Dame for spring practice or the spring game or potentially an official visit if he picks up a scholarship offer.
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