Story by Charleston Bowles

Three-star ATH Teddy Rezac becomes Notre Dame's first linebacker commitment in the 2024 class.

@Clint Cosgrove: "There's just so much upside here. The more I watch him, the more I like him."

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The eight goals Notre Dame women's lacrosse scored Friday in the first period of its first-round matchup against Mercer would have been enough to advance in the NCAA Tournament, but the Irish added plenty more from there.

Notre Dame cruised to a 21-6 victory after scoring the first 10 goals of the game. Mercer (17-3) didn't score its first goal of the game until there was 2:48 remaining in the first half.

Midfielder Kasey Choma fueled the fast start for Notre Dame (14-5) by scoring or assisting on six of the first seven goals (four goals, two assists). She finished the game with six goals and four assists.

Attacker Jackie Wolak also scored six goals in the dominating Irish victory.

Notre Dame goalie Lilly Callahan saved seven of Mercer's 13 shots on goal. Five of those saves came in the first half as the Irish built a 11-2 lead.

The Irish will play against No. 6 seed Florida in Gainesville, the site of Friday's first-round games for both teams. The Gators (17-3) beat Jacksonville (12-8) by a 13-7 margin.

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Spoke with 2026 offensive lineman Samuelu Utu today. He reported an offer from the Irish Wednesday night. He attends Orange (Calif.) Lutheran and is listed at 6-foot-5, 295-pounds.

Utu received his offer from quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli who was on the recruiting trail in California yesterday.

“He mentioned a lot of stuff about the school and how they want to build the program and he needs big boys to protect his quarterback,” Utu told Inside ND Sports. “I just knew from that point on … I got really excited. I was trying to contain my emotions. I didn’t want to go out to school looking a mess because I just got an offer from one of the biggest schools that I'd been looking at ever since I was a little kid. It’s one of my mom's favorite schools.”

Utu said he grew up watching Notre Dame games on TV with his mother and remembers watching players running out of the tunnel.

“I found that watching those games with her really built my passion to actually go there and have it be one of my top choices,” Utu said. “I like really physical teams. I'm not going to go on the field and play pattycake with you. I want to hit you, that's what I'm about and that's what I always saw.”

In his early years playing football, Utu played on the defensive line. He switched to the offensive line as he grew older in tackle football and said he brings the same mindset each time he steps on the field.

"My initial plan is to, 'Go on the field and do you,'" Utu said. "No one else is going to be you, no one else can do your job but you have to hold yourself accountable. If you miss a block or make a mistake, it's always the next play mentality for me."

Utu reports 12 total offers including Notre Dame, Colorado, Miami (FL), Nebraska, Tennessee, USC and Utah. He told me he’s looking forward to potentially visiting Notre Dame this summer.

“If I have the chance to go to Notre Dame, I'd be really excited,” Utu said. “I love the East Coast, especially that area where the school is in Indiana. I love cold weather.”

Story:


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The Irish and Akron were tied 1-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning at Eck Stadium Friday night when the game as suspended due to rain. The game will resume at 1 p.m. EDT Saturday with Saturday's previously schedule game to follow at 3.

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Notre Dame (13-8) will host Mercer (17-2) Friday night at 7 EDT in a first-round matchup in the NCAA women's lacrosse tournament. The winner moves on Sunday to the Round of 16 against the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 6 seed Florida (16-3) and Jacksonville (12-7).

BRACKET

Notre Dame's travels Friday are highlighted by visits to see top targets in the secondary for the second time this evaluation period.

A third recruit from Orange (Calif.) Lutheran has reported a Notre Dame offer this week. This time it's 2026 linebacker Talanoa Ili. The Irish also offered 2026 OL Samuelu Utu and 2025 TE Aaron Ia earlier this week.

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The Irish are joined by Penn State, Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, Miami, Tennessee, Florida State and TCU in the top 10 for 2025 quarterback Cutter Boley. He visited Notre Dame in March and is the younger brother of former Irish women's basketball player Erin Boley, who transferred to Oregon.

Kentucky's believed to be the early frontrunner here.

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Al Golden's trip to Washington, D.C., has produced an offer for 2025 safety Kainoa Winston at Gonzaga High.

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RJ Sunahara committed to Georgia this afternoon.

He visited the Irish last week and chose Georgia over Notre Dame, West Virginia and several others.

I’ve confirmed with former Stanford guard Michael O’Connell that he’s hoping to visit Notre Dame next week.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard entered the transfer portal on April 20. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining after playing three seasons at Stanford.

Across his Cardinal career, O’Connell started 76 of 89 games and averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 assists per game. He scored a career-high 22 points in Stanford’s 88-79 win against No. 4 Arizona in February

O’Connell visited Wichita State last weekend and plans to visit NC State this weekend. O’Connell is set to graduate from Stanford in June.

O’Connell was a three-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class and ranked No. 38 along point guards in the 2020 class. He reported nine offers and chose Stanford over schools including Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth and Marist. He attended Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy.

The Irish and head coach Micah Shrewsberry have taken two players in the transfer portal this spring with junior guard Julian Roper II from Northwestern and sophomore forward Kebba Nije from Penn State.

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The latest installment of this video series from Notre Dame:

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Previously: Benjamin Morrison's pick-6 vs. Clemson in 2022

Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker is in the Deep South checking in on two elite 2025 quarterback targets.

More on today's recruiting travels:

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I spoke with 2025 defensive end target Hayden Lowe tonight. He picked up an offer from the Irish Wednesday while defensive line coach Al Washington was recruiting out west.

“I was very surprised,” Lowe told Inside ND Sports. “They have high academics over there and that’s obviously a priority on my list right now. I love everything [head] Coach [Marcus] Freeman is doing with the program. Most coaches treat you like a body and there's no connection between the player and the coach. You play football and that’s it. To have a coach that really cares about your future, that's awesome.”

The 6-foot-3, 227-pound three-star prospect attends Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian and totaled 16 tackles (eight for loss) in three games as a sophomore.

Lowe said Washington liked his effort, technique and ability to come off the ball quickly. He said Washington's message focused on Notre Dame’s academics and how a degree sets players up for success outside of football. Lowe received an offer from Alabama on Tuesday and said Washington compared the Irish with the Crimson Tide.

“It’s not about football, it’s what life is outside of football,” Lowe said. “Notre Dame is a higher academic school than Alabama so we're not just thinking about you athletically, we’re thinking about your future in life. That's what he told me and I liked what he said because that's a priority and what I want to see when I'm picking a school."

He reports 13 offers including Alabama, Louisville, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Texas and Utah. Williams plans to take an unofficial visit to Notre Dame in June.

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@Eric Hansen and I will go live on YouTube on Thursday at 7 p.m. EDT for the next edition of Football Never Sleeps.

We'll discuss Notre Dame hosting a transfer portal safety this week, how much it would help the Irish, trends for transfers out of Notre Dame, the latest in ND recruiting and answer questions from viewers.

We hope you join us live with questions or submit some ahead of time. Hit the bell to set a reminder to get notified when we go live.

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If you'd like to submit questions, make sure you click through so you're watching on YouTube's site or in the YouTube app if you're on mobile. You can do so by clicking the headline at the top of the embedded video above. So where it says "Football Never Sleeps: ..." Or there should be spot that says "Watch on YouTube" in the bottom left.

Then to submit questions, there's a chat box to the right of the video on desktop or below the video on mobile.

Click here to subscribe to Inside ND Sports on YouTube.

2024 safety Notre Dame target Oliver Miles III is staying busy this spring with track and field.

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“They showed a lot of love and explained how their education can highly change a man’s life after football,” Miles told Inside ND Sports after his Blue-Gold Game visit. “[The] coaches and recruiting staff were awesome, they spoke to us every time we saw them. [Safeties coach] Coach O'Leary, [Head] Coach [Marcus] Freeman and Coach Golden explained how they develop their players into the type of players that are ready to play at the next level. Overall, [it was] a great experience and worth the fly."

Although he doesn’t hold a rating or ranking from Rivals, Miles holds 11 offers from programs including Notre Dame, Baylor, Houston, Nebraska, Stanford and Texas Tech.

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I just got off the phone with 2025 linebacker target Anthony Williams. He picked up an offer from Notre Dame on Monday after a phone call with special teams coordinator Marty Biagi.

“It was amazing,” Williams told Inside ND Sports. “Coach Biagi called and me and my mom were on the phone. My mom was just so excited. I think she shed a tear.”

Williams said Biagi pointed out his ability to play in space and make tackles in the open field. He also said Biagi identified his aggressiveness at the point of attack.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound defender attends Pearland (Tex.) Shadow Creek and totaled 26 tackles including eight for loss last season. He also recorded a pass deflection and forced a fumble. It was his first high school football season after concentrating on basketball his freshman year.

Williams holds 11 offers including Notre Dame, Arizona State, Baylor, Nebraska and Texas Tech. Both of his parents attended Baylor and his father played on the 1998 team that Notre Dame defeated 27-3 in October 1998 in South Bend, Indiana.

He is scheduled to visit Notre Dame for Irish Invasion June 4.

“I’m super excited to meet [defensive coordinator] Coach [Al] Golden and [recruiting analyst] Dre Brown,” Williams said.

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Brady Smigiel becomes the third 2026 quarterback to report a Notre Dame offer.

As a freshman at Newbury Park (Calif.) High, Smigiel completed 228 of his 346 passes (65.9%) for 3,479 yards and 46 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 12 games. He also rushed 62 times for 182 yards and five touchdowns.

Smigiel is already approaching 20 scholarship offers. He's the son of former Arizona offensive lineman Joe Smigiel.

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NBC's new 7 billion dollars contract with the Big Ten first game will be on September 2. It'll be West Virginia at Penn State. Starting time is 7:30. The Irish play Tennessee State in the afternoon.

Once upon a time, I think Notre Dame would have been all over this. I'm not as certain anymore. Certainly someone I plan to ask about.

Michigan WR A.J. Henning announces his entry into the transfer portal. He was a top target for the Irish in the 2020 class.

Henning never broke through for Michigan with any consistency. He played in 33 games across three seasons and started three times. He has 25 career receptions for 198 yards and 15 career rushes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. His biggest impact at Michigan was as a returner. He returned a punt for TD in 2021 and a kickoff for a TD in 2022.

Henning's been at Michigan for three years, so he would likely need to be a graduate for a transfer to ND to work.


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Notre Dame defensive lineman Alexander Ehrensberger is ending his college football career upon graduation this month and will return to Germany.