2026 RB Jonaz Walton Enjoys First Notre Dame Trip, Will Be Back
Jonaz Walton made his first trip to South Bend this weekend and the elite 2026 Georgia running back liked what he saw.
“It was pretty good,” Walton told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “I learned a good bit about the school and everything like that. Just spending time in South Bend because it's a lot different than Georgia, it was pretty good overall.
“I learned a lot about the history, the academic part, how prestigious they are and their connections and the network they have and how many companies have started from Notre Dame and Notre Dame is a part of and things like that.”
Deland McCullough has made the 5-foot-10, 210-pound running back an extreme priority this cycle and Walton appreciated spending time with the Notre Dame running backs coach.
“It was good talking to him,” Walton said. “He talked about how I could be utilized in their system. I also got to see how he is as a parent because we also hang out with their family a little bit. We went to a hockey game and just seeing him in that atmosphere, so I learned a good bit about him as a person as well as a coach.”
McCullough talked about Walton potentially filling a role in Year One similar to Aneyas Williams this past season.
“He got significant playing time and he was used in very serious situations because he performed well in practice and things like that,” Walton said of Williams. “It is not that just because you're a freshman you are not going to play. If you show out in practice and do what you're supposed to do, then you're going to get an opportunity to play just like he was able to.”
The Central High School star was able to speak with Irish head coach Marcus Freeman for about 20 minutes early in the day.
“He was just talking about how special Notre Dame is, talking mostly about the people and how team success is what he's all about and what the team's all about,” Walton recalled. “But it was mainly about the people here at Notre Dame, they're different. Not that they're better, but they're just different.”
In just a couple days in town, Walton can sense what Freeman was saying.
“You can definitely tell what he's talking about,” said Walton. “He's not lying. There is something different about the people, the students here at Notre Dame.”
The event ended with Walton and the other visiting recruits checking out the Irish hockey game.
“It was pretty cool,” he said. “I'd never been to a hockey game living in the South, so it was pretty exciting. That was my first one and they won, so it was a great atmosphere, honestly.”
Walton will head to Georgia Tech next weekend for a visit, but plans on getting back to Notre Dame this spring.
“Get back for a practice, see how they operate, how the football players are and everything like that, just seeing how they work out,” he said. “That's really the next step, honestly.”
Walton has a lengthy list of scholarship offers that include Georgia, Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Duke among several others.
Walton hasn’t announced any leaders, but said he has a reduced list internally..
“It's not narrowed down to a certain amount, like five schools or anything like that, but I would say it's pretty narrowed down,” Walton said.
He knows how he’ll go about narrowing it down further and ultimately choosing a school.
“It comes down to the running back coach as well as just the feeling of being there. It's not something you can really describe; you just kind of know where home's at, if you like the place, the buildings, the people, everything in one helps me narrow it down honestly.”
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