2026 DL Elijah Golden Previews Notre Dame Official
Elijah Golden is coming to the end of the recruiting process.
The elite 2026 Florida defensive lineman has already taken three official visits and will take his final official visit this weekend to Notre Dame.
Golden is excited for the trip.
“Of course,” the Cardinal Mooney High School standout told Irish Sports Daily. “I just want to have fun, have a good time and I'm very interested in seeing the dorms.
“I just want to see what the dorms look like and if I was to decide to go to Notre Dame, I want to see what I would be living in.”
Golden has already taken officials to Virginia Tech, Oklahoma and Alabama. That will give him the opportunity to compare what he’s already seen to what he’ll see in South Bend, but for the most part several trips earlier in the process have given him a good idea of what to expect at Notre Dame.
Plus, one thing the other schools showed him during his previous officials, the Irish have been showing him throughout.
“On my other visits, they made me feel like I'm a priority the entire visit,” said Golden. “But Notre Dame makes me feel like a priority all the time.
“They hit me up and talk to me on a consistent basis. They're very persistent when it comes to checking in on me and talking to me.”
The message from defensive line coach Al Washington and the rest of the Irish staff is centralized on how he’d fit in the program and that’s hit home with the 6-foot-4, 275-pounder.
“I feel like I would fit in very well and I could play multiple positions on the d-line,” he said.
Golden also has a strong bond with Washington.
“We have a great relationship,” he said. “I've known him ever since I came my freshman-sophomore year to camp.”
Washington and the staff aren’t the only ones recruiting him to Notre Dame, though. The Irish’s current 2026 commits have been all over him too.
“They've just been hitting me up,” Golden said. “They always reply with 'Irish.' If I post another school's pics, they'll slide in with an Irish emoji.
“It means a lot. It definitely means that I'm very wanted.”
Golden has repeatedly said he’d have a final decision on God’s time. With official visits coming to a close, that time is coming near.
“I will probably know in the next two weeks or so after my visit.”
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