Notre Dame, Al Washington Keeping Tight With 2026 DL Elijah Golden

Notre Dame has been chasing Elijah Golden‍ for well over a year now and with official visit season approaching, the Irish’s pursuit of the 2026 Florida defensive lineman has probably never been hotter than it is at the moment.

Defensive line coach Al Washington conducted an in-home visit with Golden earlier this month.

“It was pretty good,” Golden said. “It was nice. 

“We sat down, had a great talk, about an hour. We had a good time talking and chopping it up.”

Having recruited Golden for so long, for Washington it’s more about continuing to lean on the relationship they’ve built over than time than any specific sales pitch.

“There's no real message,” Golden said. “We've just been checking in with each other. He's been asking me about how my team is doing, goals for the season and stuff like that, leadership.

“Our relationship is good. He has a very good connection to me.”

That relationship matters to the 6-foot-4, 275-pound Golden.

“It's very important,” he said. “I feel like going to the next level and having a good relationship with not only your position coach, but other coaches is good to have. I feel like that is key.”

The Cardinal Gibbons star has four official visits set in succession, starting this week with a trip to Virginia Tech, followed by Oklahoma (June 6th), Alabama (June 13th) and Notre Dame (June 20th). 

He appreciates the respect the Hokies staff has shown him.

“They made me feel like I'm a priority and I have a good relationship with the coaches,” he said.

Co-defensive coordinator Todd Bates has been leading the recruitment for the Sooners and helped them land among the finalists.

“Coach Bates and how they show that I'm a priority and his teaching,” said Golden. “He's a very good teacher.”

Alabama defensive line coach Freddie Roach is a big reason why Golden is looking so hard at the Crimson Tide.

Golden has been to South Bend multiple times already and says he’d like to see “more of the student life” when he returns for his official.

Golden still doesn’t have a firm announcement date.

“I'm just patiently waiting for the right time to commit.”

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