Former Notre Dame linebacker Jaylon Smith announced today that he has partnered with JINYA Ramen Bar to open a location on Notre Dame's campus as part of an investment in other JINYA locations across the country.

JINYA is a growing chain with 53 restaurants currently serving ramen.

"Joining the restaurant industry and opening a unique take on Japanese cuisine and bringing the ramen culture at my alma mater is the best way I know to give back to that community and reach the future generations that will pass through Notre Dame's campus,” Smith said in his own release.

Said Tomo Takahashi, founder of JINYA Ramen Bar: “Jaylon is an outstanding NFL player, and one of my personal favorites to watch play the game. We were thrilled that he wanted to partner with JINYA and are looking forward to a successful future together.”


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@Adam Gorney isn't yet buying the buzz coming out of five-star DT Justin Scott's visit to Miami.


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I spoke with 2025 cornerback target Cree Thomas this evening. He began his Notre Dame visit Saturday and flew out Monday morning.

Thomas told Inside ND Sports he spent most of his time with cornerbacks/defensive passing game coordinator Mike Mickens and head coach Marcus Freeman. He appreciated how both coaches emphasized life beyond football. He also mentioned the infectious energy throughout the scrimmage Saturday.

“People were flying around, they were celebrating, they were running with their teammates,” Thomas said. “I thought that was the coolest part to me because it really shows each player has passion … they love what they're doing. The coaches as well. They were getting into it. They're competing with each other on opposite sidelines.”

He hails from Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy College Prep, the same school which produced Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Thomas described seeing his former teammate and the immediate success he’s had with the Irish.

“It's definitely inspiring and amazing,” Thomas said. “Whenever I get the chance to, I always talk to Ben. I always ask him how he's doing. He's always super nice, even when I was a freshman and he was a senior, he was always super cool to me. He kind of showed me the way and I looked up to him a lot. I still do look up to him.”

Thomas finished with 33 tackles, six pass deflections and one interception as a sophomore. He hasn’t been given Thomas a star rating or ranking by Rivals. He holds five offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Notre Dame and Oregon. As long as his football schedule doesn't interfere, Thomas said he plans on returning to Notre Dame this fall for a game day visit.

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After receiving his offer from the Irish in March, offensive tackle target Owen Strebig visited Notre Dame for the first time Saturday. I caught up with the 6-foot-8, 290-pound four-star from Waukesha (Wisc.) Catholic Memorial today.

Strebig told Inside ND Sports he's had a relationship with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph since Rudolph was at Wisconsin in 2021. Strebig said Rudolph knows his personal trainers and has kept tabs on him for the past two years.

Strebig was in Notre Dame Stadium for Saturday's scrimmage and said the offensive line set the tone.

“You can definitely tell from just watching and from what other coaches have told me that the offensive line kind of runs the program,” Strebig said. “They’re no-nonsense. They're the leaders of that group and not only on the offense but kind of just the whole team.”

Strebig said head coach Marcus Freeman talked mostly about Notre Dame's education and opportunities for him after football is over during their meeting.

Strebig is ranked as the No. 18 offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class. He reports 12 offers including Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. He plans to visit Illinois for its Blue and Orange Spring Game Thursday. He told me he hasn't set an exact date to return to Notre Dame but said he's eager to come back.

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Notre Dame assistant athletic director of alumni engagement Hunter Bivin, a former Irish offensive lineman, discusses the creation of Notre Dame football's Legacy Network, head coach Marcus Freeman's push to make Legacy Weekend a part of the Blue-Gold Game week, what ND's current and former players get from the experience, who's expected to be in town this year, why Bivin returned to ND after graduation, the impact the director of football player development can have, the adversity he faced during his ND career and more.

Then @Eric Hansen and I answer questions from Twitter and The Insider Lounge (17:54).

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Baby Bus did his thing today.

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Last year when many people on this site were laughing at Michigan and the pathetic recruiting class they had and how we kicked their ass on many head to head recruits. Michigan went on to the playoffs and now it seems that every time I see a recruit and his top 10, top 5 Michigan is included and ND is not in many. I get it that we are ranked 5 at this point but it seems that Michigan is trending to have a very productive recruiting year and doing very well head to head with ND with recruits........

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I spoke with 2025 wide receiver target Quincy Porter early this morning. He visited Notre Dame last Wednesday after landing an offer on ND's annual Pot of Gold Day recruiting event March 17. He said this visit was important because it was his first time meeting the coaching staff and wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey.

"My favorite part of the visit was being able to see all the coaches in person," Porter told Inside ND Sports.

Porter finished with 34 receptions for 682 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore for Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic. He's one of many wide receivers who Notre Dame is prioritizing in the 2025 recruiting class. Porter said he likes to differentiate himself through his route running and his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame.

"My skill set is being big and fast and being able to run routes," Porter said,

Rivals has Porter as a four-star recruit. He is ranked as the No. 19 wide receiver and No. 100 overall player in the 2025 class. He holds 17 offers including Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State.

Porter told me academics and the overall state of the football program will be the biggest factors in his decision. He told me he plans to stay in contact with Notre Dame's staff. He said he doesn't have any specific date he plans to return to Notre Dame.

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be televised? Just haven't seen this reported.

Looks healthy, jacked and confident. Like a great athlete who learns the play book and the game slows down. Seems like being the CEO of ND Football has slowed down for him and excited for his future.

Notre Dame had so many selections, they couldn't fit them all on one tweet.

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Clemson baseball had an answer for Notre Dame at seemingly every turn in Sunday's rubber match of the three-game ACC series in South Carolina.

The Tigers matched or outscored the Irish in every inning Notre Dame plated a run in the 6-4 Clemson victory.

Notre Dame (18-15, 8-10 ACC) opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a RBI double from right fielder Brooks Coetzee.

Clemson (22-15, 6-9) responded with an RBI single by Will Taylor in the bottom of the first.

The Irish regained the lead in the top of the second when second baseman Estevan Moreno scored from third on a fielding error by third baseman Blake Wright. The Tigers took the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a RBI double by Tristan Bissetta and a RBI groundout by Cam Cannarella.

Notre Dame tied the game in the top of the fifth with a RBI sacrifice bunt by left fielder Casey Kmet. Clemson matched the run with an RBI sacrifice fly by Caden Grice in the bottom half.

First baseman Carter Putz scored Notre Dame's fourth and final run in the seventh inning on a wild pitch. Clemson broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh with RBI doubles by Billy Amick and Riley Bertram.

Right-handed reliever Nick Clayton earned the win for Clemson despite allowing the tying run to score in the seventh on the wild pitch. He struck out three and allowed two hits in three innings of work.

Reliever Radek Birkholz was handed the Notre Dame loss for allowing the first RBI double in the seventh. Left-handed Will Mercer allowed the following RBI double that created extra separation. Birkholz allowed three runs, two earned, in 2 2/3 innings of work with four hits, three strikeouts and two wild pitches. The immediate RBI double was the only hit surrendered by Mercer in the five batters he faced.

Righty Blake Hely pitched four innings of three-run ball as Notre Dame's starter. He gave up six hits, struck out five and walked one.

Notre Dame will host Valparaiso (14-14) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. EDT and Western Michigan (10-23) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. EDT before No. 7 Virginia (31-6, 12-6) visits for a three-game weekend series.

Box score: Clemson 6, Notre Dame 4

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I spoke with 2026 prospect Marcello Vitti this evening. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete visited the Irish Saturday after Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden contacted Christopher Lainey, Vitti's high school head coach at Detroit (Mich.) Divine Child.

Vitti plays running back and safety. As a freshman, he finished with 814 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns out of the backfield. He also totaled 64 tackles and two interceptions defensively.

Vitti told Inside ND Sports spent most of his time around Golden and safeties coach Chris O'Leary.

"He's been through many schools and coached in the NFL so his knowledge around football in general really attracts me," Vitti said. "Coach Leary talked to me a little bit. Something that stuck with me was [that] he said, 'No matter what coaches are at Notre Dame, Notre Dame is always going to be Notre Dame and it's going to have its history.'"

Rivals has not given out any stars or rankings to 2026 prospects. Vitti reports seven offers from Akron, Central Michigan, Maryland, Michigan, Penn State, Toledo and Western Michigan. Although Notre Dame is on his list of desired offers, Vitti plans to control what he can control and said he is grateful for the opportunity to visit.

"It's an honor for me to just get an invite and talk to the coaches and to meet everybody and be in the facility and be in that stadium."

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Longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming is returning home to the Chicago area today from an 11,000-mile trip to meet and visit recruits in every state west of the Mississippi of the continental U.S. as well as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arkansas and Illinois.

Here are some key takeaways from that trip:

Georgia is mentioned most often by recruits, followed by Alabama. Those two are in a class by themselves. Notre Dame is in the next tier with USC, Oklahoma, Oregon, Ohio State among others. Texas and Texas A&M got a lot of mentions in Texas, not so much outside of Texas.

WRs coach Chansi Stuckey and CBs coach Mike Mickens are the Irish assistants' names that come up the most, with DC Al Golden a close third. Stuckey's popularity and name-recognition is a game-changer, given how infrequently prospects, per Lemming, brought up former ND WRs coach Del Alexander's name.

Notre Dame getting offers out earlier and making contacts earlier than previous regimes is absolutely critical. Previously, half the sophomores Lemming would visit in that part of the country didn't know ND was in Indiana.

Among the more memorable meetings Lemming had was with 2024 four-star RB Kedren Young and his mom in Lufkin, Texas. Young's mom couldn't say enough good things about ND and RBs coach Deland McCullough. Young holds and Irish offer.

Notre Dame's academic rep is an asset that resonates with a lot of prospects, but kids are also mentioning NIL is larger numbers than they did in the last recruiting cycle -- not necessarily competing concepts, though.

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I caught up with 2024 safety target Paul Mencke Jr from Schertz (Tex.) Clemens this afternoon. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound defender visited Notre Dame Friday and Saturday after receiving an offer March 24.

Despite Rivals listing him as a cornerback, the Irish are recruiting Mencke as a safety. Mencke had some close observations of the safety position from his time watching practice.

“Practice was great,” Mencke Jr said. “I was sprinting around practice trying to get some good angles on how their defense works, asking questions about their defense. There’s always somebody fifteen yards back in the middle as a cover safety because they don’t want [to give up] the big play.

“You’ll see a corner fly way back up to the middle of the field and cover deep,” Mencke Jr said. “You'll see some safeties sometimes blitzing off the edge or coming down a little late and timing up a blitz.”

During our conversation, Mencke Jr mentioned academics and earning a degree as important factors in his recruitment. He also said he spoke to former Notre Dame and current Baltimore Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton over the phone about creating his own legacy. Lastly, he felt like safties coach Chris O'Leary's energy was contagious within the safeties during practice.



Mencke Jr reports 17 total offers including Colorado, Missouri, Notre Dame, Stanford and Washington and Washington State. His father, Paul, played quarterback at Washington State from 1996-2000.

According to Rivals, Mencke Jr is a three-star recruit. He is not ranked in his state or at his position.

Mencke Jr told me he plans to schedule an official visit to Notre Dame. Since Notre Dame doesn’t have any current safeties committed in its 2024 recruiting class, I believe he is a name to monitor closely going forward.

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Minchey is a very articulate high school kid……another great representative for the University and has a mature temperament , wouldn’t be a surprise if he panned out

Buchner- looks more focused/serious, said something about “having nothing to lose” that stuck out as not something I’d expect from him previously

Hartman- very polished it feels like he isn’t content with where he is in terms of performance but is confident in the effort and the talent he possesses

I know many feel Hartman is the starter but seems like Buchner is a little ahead at this point and possibly that Hartman is a bit surprised by what he may he seeing…. How they maintain the chemistry will be interesting