Notre Dame Enters the Picture for 2027 Ohio Linebacker Brayton Feister
2027 Archbishop Hoban (Ohio) linebacker Brayton Feister had been patiently waiting for Notre Dame to offer, dating back to the spring.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder sensed it was coming as former Notre Dame linebacker coach Al Washington had ramped up communication over the last two weeks.
“I was very grateful,” Feister told ISD. “I thought Coach was coming on Friday and not today, so that's a little surprising. I kind of already knew what was coming, just based on the previous kind of conversations we had and the relationship with Coach Washington. It means a lot. This is an opportunity to chase my dream.”
Feister holds 30 offers, but Thursday is one he’ll likely remember for a long time. Just minutes before visiting with Notre Dame, Feister spent an hour with Ohio State linebackers coach James Laurinaitis, who also extended an offer to the Hoban standout.
“It just kind of shows the big schools are starting to come and it's just starting to pick up,” explained Feister. “It just takes one big school or the right school to fire the shot and everybody else comes running.”
The Ohio native has visited Notre Dame before, giving him familiarity with the program, but the appeal goes deeper than football. As a student at a Catholic high school, Feister sees a natural fit in South Bend.
“We are a Catholic school, so it's pretty much literally just going from a smaller version to a bigger version of Notre Dame,” Feister stated. “It's literally the same thing. Similar people, similar place, similar religious aspect to it, athletic aspect to it, always a college playoff team – even with the controversial thing this year. Great, great program, great team. I've always thought very highly of it.”
With offers from Notre Dame and Ohio State now in hand, Feister is intrigued by the chance to play for two of the nation’s top defenses and potentially do so early in his career.
“That's huge,” Feister said. “Ultimately, it is my goal to play very early. I want to get an opportunity to start as a freshman. If that were to happen at either of those schools, it'd be absolutely awesome. It'd definitely be an honor to be able to showcase my talent on one of those defenses.”
Feister’s junior season production backs up the growing national attention. In 2025, he totaled 133 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions, while also rushing for 1,098 yards.
Most programs are recruiting Feister as a Mike linebacker, though his physical, downhill running style could also earn him short-yardage offensive opportunities at the next level.
“I've played both sides of the ball,” explained Feister. “I will start as Mike. I would play Mike backer full-time. I would have special packages for offense, like just some fourth down stuff, goal line stuff, or short yardage games or something like that, stuff like that, because I am able to do it.”
As for what comes next, Feister is close to locking in his spring visit schedule.
“I'm planning the spring visits for March and April, so I'll set all those up then,” said Feister.
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