BREAKING | 2026 DE Ebenezer Ewetade Commits To Notre Dame
Coming off this weekend’s visit to Notre Dame, Ebenezer Ewetade has seen enough.
In reality, the 2026 North Carolina defensive end had probably seen enough following his initial trip to South Bend back in February.
That’s why Ewetade felt confident in announcing his commitment to the Irish tonight.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder from South Garner High School chose Notre Dame over offers from schools like Georgia, Florida State, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Ohio State, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Duke and Wake Forest among several others.
Ewetade gives the Irish eight current commits in their 2026 class. He’s the third defensive player in the fold, joining linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., and cornerback Chaston Smith. He’s the first defensive lineman of the group, but he could have some company soon as fellow North Carolina defensive end Rodney Dunham is scheduled to announce his decision next week with Notre Dame looking to be in a strong spot.
From the start, Notre Dame checked plenty of boxes for Ewetade and South Bend was the one place he was willing to visit this year where he didn’t already have an offer. That said plenty about his interest in Notre Dame and once he received that offer, the interest only went up from there.
He loves Irish defensive line coach Al Washington and the entire coaching staff.
“He's pretty straightforward,” Ewetade told ISD of Washington. “He's never going to lie to me. He's going to tell me how it really is and that's what I really respect about him and the whole entire staff.”
He feels like he’ll be developed well at Notre Dame and have the chance to play football at the highest level.
Geography was never going to be a factor for Ewetade, who was simply looking for the best overall fit.
And academics is one aspect that helped Notre Dame in a gigantic way.
“How they operate, how they get academics down, how they help you with your academics when you get there,” he told ISD. “It's a long-term investment for even after you're done playing football, how they can still help you out and improve and get you better.”
Ewetade had other visits scheduled to schools like Florida, Georgia and Alabama, but those are now off.
Ewetade may not have actually made up his mind on his first trip to South Bend in February, but he certainly had a chance to compare and contrast when he made other visits shortly afterward and that comparison definitely helped him come to his final decision.
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