Elite 2028 RB Zaiden Jernigan Talks Notre Dame Offer, Visit

Zaiden Jernigan‍ seems to have impressed virtually every school that has looked at him. Last week, the 2028 Mississippi running back was impressed by his trip to Notre Dame. 

“It was probably one of the best visits I went on so far,” Jernigan told Irish Sports Daily. “I loved it.”

The 5-foot-11, 195-pounder was in South Bend for the Irish’s 34-24 win over USC. 

Seeing the Irish run for over 300 yards against the Trojans, highlighted by Jeremiyah Love’s career-high 228, was certainly a highlight for Jernigan, but so was speaking to running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and learning that he had an offer from Notre Dame. 

“He said that I was a special type of player and he was talking about how he can potentially see me up there at Notre Dame,” Jernigan said.

The Louisville High School star was also impressed with Seider and the Irish’s rushing attack. 

“He's a good person,” Jernigan said of Seider. “He gave me some knowledge that no other coach really talked to me about.

“I love how it looks like they're a Gap team and I like running Gap stuff. And I love their running back rotation too.”

When it comes time to choose a school, the offensive system will be a major factor for Jernigan.

“I want to be in an offense that can use me in multiple ways like receiver, potentially the Wildcat quarterback and in the backfield, of course,” he said. 

Jernigan also enjoyed the atmosphere inside Notre Dame Stadium.

“It was great,” he said. “As soon as I walked into the stadium, it was already crazy, so I loved that.”

He was also impressed with learning about how Notre Dame could set him up in life beyond football. 

“I heard a lot of successful people came through Notre Dame and they take it very seriously,” he said. 

He’s already made trips to Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Alabama and LSU and is eyeing a return trip to South Bend. 

“I'm just going to try to stay in touch with Coach and probably be up there in the spring,” he said. “They want me to come back in the spring, so I'm going to try to make that happen.”