With the 2026 cycle now essentially in the rearview mirror, Dakota Guerrant has felt the spotlight shift to his class.
“It feels good,” the 2027 Michigan wide receiver told Irish Sports Daily. “You got all these coaches calling you now telling you you are the main focus now.”
The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from Harper Woods High School is one of the top pass-catchers in the Midwest in the 2027 class, he already holds a growing list of Power Four offers that includes Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Oregon, Miami, Tennessee and others.
Notre Dame has remained in steady contact as that attention has ramped up. The Harper Woods, Mich., native speaks frequently with wide receivers coach Mike Brown and Director of Recruiting Carter Auman.
“I’ve talked to them,” Guerrant said. “I talk to the receiver coach and the recruiting coordinator. I talk to Carter a lot.”
The message from the Irish has centered on opportunity and fit. Guerrant said Notre Dame has emphasized its quarterback situation, its track record at wide receiver and the national platform that comes with the program.
“They got a good quarterback, got CJ Carr,” Guerrant said. “They’ve always got great receivers. They’re going to have a run game. They always sell the TV (deal), like them being the NFL team in Indiana. They need me there. I could be the guy for them.”
His impressions of the staff go beyond football.
“Amazing people,” Guerrant said. “Definitely great people.”
Guerrant has previously been to Notre Dame for camp and said the next step will be getting back to campus for a deeper look.
“I’ll definitely come down probably for spring,” he said. “Definitely for the spring for sure.”
His next visit will be about seeing parts of the program he has not experienced yet.
“I have never been to a practice,” Guerrant said. “I only came to camp, so I got to see how (Brown) coached and then how everything flows in the receiver room and how Coach Marcus Freeman is and everything like that.”
Notre Dame is one of several major programs involved, but at the moment, everybody seems to be looking up at Ohio State, Texas A&M and Oregon.
Guerrant said both in-state schools remain active, with Michigan State and Michigan continuing to recruit him despite head coaching changes at each.
“Those schools are decent,” Guerrant said. “They’re cool. I still got Coach Courtney Hawkins at Michigan State, so he’s still there at the receiver coach. Michigan State’s still straight for me and then Michigan.”
He also plans to travel further this spring.
“Probably Oregon, Miami and Tennessee,” Guerrant said.
Guerrant would like to have his decision made in July and confirmed that official visits will factor into the process.
When it comes time to choose, Guerrant’s priority is finding a situation that sets him up to contribute after development rather than forcing himself into a spot where immediate playing time matters above all else.
“I want to be able to come into the perfect situation. I may be able to play or get some playing time early, but really not all the way Year One. By Year Two, I need to be set and can produce.”
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