Notre Dame OL Commits Shine at UA Camp, Building Strong Bonds

By Matt Freeman

April 30, 2025

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Notre Dame’s 2026 offensive line commits, Sullivan Garvin‍ and Ben Nichols‍, have grown close over the past year through the recruiting process.

The Michigan natives have trained together, and on Sunday, they showcased their skills on a national stage at the Under Armour camp in Ohio.

Nichols, already familiar with the camp experience, impressed again—earning an invitation to the prestigious Under Armour All-American Game.

“It was pretty cool, obviously,” stated Nichols. “There's a lot of great competition out here. To be able to come out and show what I can do, it means a lot to me.”

For Garvin, it was his first time at an Under Armour camp. While the environment can be overwhelming for newcomers, Garvin stood out as one of the top offensive linemen in attendance. Even more important to him, though, was getting to work alongside Nichols.

“It was a lot of fun working with Ben,” said Garvin. “I have never really camped with him before. I trained with him a few times. So, just building a brotherhood basically. It’s fun. Always a good time.”

Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph projects both prospects to end up on the interior of the offensive line when they arrive in South Bend. Garvin and Nichols worked plenty at guard on Sunday, but they also embraced the chance to work on the outside at tackle to get extra reps and to show off their versatility.

“Being told I'm going to project as a guard or center in college, I play tackle in high school,” Garvin stated. “I think it shows versatility and maybe looks good to Coach Rudolph. Showing him I can play everywhere.”

Nichols echoed Garvin’s statements and took it as a challenge to play both positions at camp as other players worked at their normal positions.

“I play tackle now in high school,” Nichols said. “With Coach Rudolph and him telling me I'm projected to be a guard. So, working all this time at guard and then switching back, it's a change. But I’ve done it before.”

Under Armour is known for having quality coaches at the camp, which means players are actually improving their game instead of just trying to showcase themselves.

Garvin and Nichols embraced the coaching and have areas of their game to clean up before the season starts in a few months.

“Mainly for me, in between each reps, he was just telling me hands inside,” explained Garvin. “When we were doing like the indy (individual drills), he said I had pretty good technique. When I got to actual one-on-ones, I was like punching outside. He just told me to keep my elbows tight.”

Looking ahead, both Garvin and Nichols lit up when discussing fellow Michigan lineman Gregory Patrick‍’s recent commitment to Notre Dame.

“I was very excited,” stated Garvin. “I know for sure we're taking four, maybe five. But just to know right now our O-line class is probably complete is pretty cool.”

The two took different approaches in recruiting Patrick. Nichols occasionally sent a shamrock emoji, while Garvin had more face-to-face interactions.

“He was really quiet because I trained with him,” Garvin stated. “He was pretty quiet about it, but I was just throwing little hints in there every now and then in between reps whenever I'm working out with him.”

Both linemen spoke highly of the culture within Notre Dame’s offensive line group and the bond forming between the commits.

“The people they recruit, we've all been to campus together - except Greg because he is newly committed - probably about four times,” said Nichols. “Every time it's a blast. It’s really cool having that bond.”

The momentum on the recruiting trail has both players excited. Notre Dame has gone on a run of commitments to end the spring and the Irish look to continue that momentum over the next few months.

“We're looking up for sure,” explained Garvin. “We have like 11 or 12 commits now with (Ayden) Pouncey. We're like No. 4 in the country. The classes above us have more guys, so I think as we get more guys, we're going to keep getting up there.”

And who is the top target for Notre Dame’s commits?

“Joey O'Brien,” said Nichols.