Notre Dame Checks In On 2026 TE Target Gavin Mueller

Less than two weeks after he visited Notre Dame, Gavin Mueller‍ received a visit from the Irish at South Elgin High School on Monday.

“It was good,” the 2026 Illinois tight end told Irish Sports Daily. “He saw me run around a little bit. There was another coach there too, so they just had meetings with me and then watched me run around a little bit.”

The 6-foot-6, 235-pounder was once again impressed when he visited Notre Dame earlier this month. But, at the moment, his timeline isn’t lining up well with the Irish’s pursuit of him. 

“I have an early commitment day and they don't do any OVs in May,” said Mueller, who took an official to Wisconsin this past weekend and heads to Colorado next weekend. He also has an official set for LSU the weekend after that, leading up to his announcement.

But the Irish aren’t giving up yet, though.

“I was Coach Denbrock's first stop,” Mueller said. “It means a lot to me. He's the OC, not just the tight ends coach. For him to stop at my school first really makes me feel like a priority. We're texting right now, we're trying to figure something out. Notre Dame's got a special spot in my heart, so I'd love for it to work out.

“They're trying to figure something out. Trying to either get me to push back my timeline a little bit or still take an OV after I commit, or I've been there plenty of times, so they're just trying to relay the message that I've definitely been there enough to see everything.”

Still, while he continues to listen to Notre Dame’s pitch about pushing things back, Mueller said he’s “pretty set” on deciding in May.

“I just have some family commitments in June, the first two weekends actually,” he said. “Rather than pushing it back, I'd rather push it forward, especially at the tight end position. 

“It's a limited position like quarterbacks, most schools only take one or two, so I'd rather push it forward and be able to pick the school that I want to, versus trying to push it back and then maybe lose some opportunities.”

But Mueller isn’t ready to completely rule out the Irish no matter what happens over the next few weeks.

“If I don't commit to Notre Dame, my plan is to try to stay loyal to the school I commit to, but it'd just be a conversation with the coach I commit to. There's going to be a lot of conversations had before that time for sure.”

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