Kaydon Finley has visited Notre Dame several times and the 2026 Texas receiver has enjoyed each one, which is why he keeps coming back.
This weekend was no different as Finley returned to South Bend and once again left impressed.
“It was really good,” Finley told Irish Sports Daily afterward. “There were a few other receivers there, Mason James and the commit, Dylan Faison. I got to spend a lot of time with them. It was fun.”
Faison was giving Finley some insight into his own process.
“He was just telling me how it was just a special place and how nothing can compare to Notre Dame,” Finley said.
“I love Dylan. He's a very good athlete. He's hardworking. He's coming to Notre Dame to play two sports, so you can obviously see the dedication is there, and those are the type of people I want to be surrounded with.”
Finley has a connection to James, who is from Oklahoma.
“We work out with Margin Hooks, so I knew of him before I went over there,” Finley said. “Talking to him was cool.”
Feeling good about the people at the school and in his class “100 percent” matter to Finley.
“I think the people I'm surrounded with are a big factor in my recruitment because I'm going to be around those people most of the time,” he said. “That's who I'm going to be learning with and developing with also.”
Finley was also able to see more about Notre Dame as a football program and a university.
“I got to see the developmental part of Coach (Mike) Brown,” he said. “I got to see practice and how competitive and physical it was. I loved that. I got to sit down with academics and talk about all that stuff. I think that's very different. I got to see the whole campus this time.
“I've always loved Notre Dame. I just think this time was important for me just to get back and see the type of practice style and how competitive it was. I think that was very important and I took that as a big positive from my visit.”
The Aledo High School standout has a few other trips on deck.
“Next weekend, I'll be at UCLA,” he said. “The weekend after that, I'll be at A&M and then the weekend after that I'll be at Texas. Those are my unofficial visits. And then I'll be at Arizona State April 24th for my official visit.”
He already has his next trip scheduled to Notre Dame as well.
“The next step in this process is just maintaining this relationship we have and getting back on June 12th,” he said. “I'll be back June 12th through June 15th for my OV.
“Just keep steadily building this relationship with the coaches and the guys in my grade that are going to be there also.”
Finley will add other official visits to the list, but isn’t sure exactly which ones yet.
The Irish continue to stand out.
“I'd definitely say they're one of those top schools on my list. I keep coming back. I think they're one of those top schools that I really, really love out of the select few I have.”
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