2026 DL Elijah Golden Planning Notre Dame Official

Elijah Golden‍ has an idea of where he’ll be taking official visits, but the 2026 Florida defensive lineman isn’t quite ready to announce them yet.

“I don't have them locked in locked in yet,” he says.

“Right now, I'm just not going publish the dates yet. I'm still trying to lock in lock in.”

But the Cardinal Mooney standout is willing to say South Bend will have a spot on the itinerary.

“Of course,” Golden says.

Notre Dame has been recruiting Golden seriously for well over a year now.

“I could definitely say their consistency and how they show a lot of support,” he says of what stands out about the Irish. “They make me a priority and show that I'm a priority and show me a lot of love.

“It's not only the texting and the calling every day, it's just little things they do; getting on meetings, talking to the coaches, coming to the school, showing some love, some support. Mainly the little things.”

Al Washington has been his main point of contact.

“Great dude, great person, overall great coach,” Golden says of the Notre Dame defensive line coach.

Golden has already made multiple trips to South Bend and is looking forward to digging in deeper on his official visit, which is likely to come in June.

“Definitely the inside of Notre Dame; the dorms, classes, how the classes work and everything else,” he says of what he wants to see next.

Golden knows what will matter most when it comes time for him to make a decision. 

“Relationships and how they're going to use me as a d-lineman,” he says, adding that he’d like to be in a versatile role that would allow him to tackle and end while learning all of the spots.

He’s hoping to have a decision before the start of his senior season, but won’t force it if he isn’t ready. 

“I really just want to take my time with this. To be honest, if it takes me until December 4th to commit on National Signing Day, it's going to take me that much time. I really just want to take my time with this.” 

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