Real nice pickup, great RB duo with Osborne.

Because everyone has eyes on USC this recruiting cycle ... LB Xavier Griffin is no longer in USC's top-ranked class.

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Jonaz Walton is Irish.

Story:


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Four-star tight end Luke Sorensen, a 2026 recruit at Anaheim (Calif.) Servite, reported a Notre Dame offer Wednesday. The Irish joined an offer list approaching 30 schools for Sorensen, including Alabama, Michigan, Texas, UCLA and USC.

Sorensen has already made an official visit to Wisconsin and Ole Miss with OVs scheduled for Penn State (May 30), Texas A&M (June 6), Miami (June 13) and Nebraska (June 20).

Sorensen caught 15 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns last season in a Servite offense that totaled just 998 passing yards in 11 games. Rivals ranks Sorensen as the No. 19 tight end in the 2026 class.

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@RivalsFriedman ranked the top position groups so far in the 2026 class. Unfortunately, he did it before Jonaz Walton announced his commitment, because the Irish should be the pick at running back.

But Notre Dame did win at another position that you'll probably be able to guess.

Last up in the first edition of The Heat Index for Notre Dame’s 2026 class is linebacker.

Notre Dame already has a pair of four-star commitments from Chaston Smith and Ayden Pouncey.

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The Irish have a few longtime targets but aren't looking to settle in the secondary.

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For more details on Smith, Pouncey and Notre Dame's remaining defensive back targets, follow the link below.

Notre Dame's staff is onto its third and likely final week of taking advantage of the current contact period for FBS-level football.

The contact period, which began April 15 and runs through May 24, allows staff members to make in-person, off-campus recruiting contact with high school juniors in the 2026 class. The staff can meet with each recruit twice during this contact period with one visit at their high school and another at any location, typically with the family for an in-home visit.

The contact period also allows evaluations for high schools in the junior class and below. However, head coaches are not permitted to make visits during the spring contact period, so you won't see Marcus Freeman's name listed in these rundowns.

Inside ND Sports has learned, through sources, that these Notre Dame staff members were expected in the following locations on Tuesday. This list may not be comprehensive, but it will be updated on The Insider Lounge as visits are reported.

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Special offer until May 30th, $24.99 for an entire year. Just sayin '...

The 247-composite #1 QB in '26 chooses Georgia over Oregon https://www.espn.com/college-footba...d-curtis-top-2026-quarterback-commits-georgia

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Notre Dame started building momentum in the 2026 recruiting cycle pretty shortly after being able to bring recruits on campus during spring football. Now that spring football has wrapped up, the path forward for what Notre Dame’s 2026 class could end up looking like has started to become clear. Which means it’s time to debut a popular staple for subscribers on The Insider Lounge: The Heat Index for the 2026 class.

Like we did with the last two recruiting classes, we will keep The Heat Index pinned in the sticky threads at the top of the board and we’ll post updates to it for the remainder of the 2026 recruiting cycle. That way Inside ND Sports subscribers should always have a clear picture of the top candidates to be future Notre Dame commitments.

This first edition of The Heat Index for the 2026 class will be unveiled by position in the coming days/weeks. The pinned thread will remain locked initially, but each update will have an unlocked thread below highlighting the debut for each position.

How does The Heat Index work? It’s intended to reflect a combination of how much Notre Dame is prioritizing a recruit and how much interest that recruit is showing in the Irish.

These are the various levels we will assign to recruits in The Heat Index and what they’re intended to mean.

Plain: The recruitment remains in the beginning stages, so there’s not enough evidence to justify a heat rating.

Mild: There was interest at some point, but the recruitment has not been trending toward a commitment lately.

Medium: Interest has been expressed, but it’s not clear which way this recruitment is heading.

Hot: Notre Dame is a top contender, and the recruit is a top target.

Extremely Hot: We expect this recruit to eventually commit to Notre Dame — potentially sooner rather than later.

And now, it’s time to bring the heat ...

Last updated: 5/14

Four-star wide receiver Kohen Brown, a 2026 USC commit from Waxahachie (Texas) High, reported a Notre Dame offer Wednesday. Brown became USC's 19th commitment in early April.

Brown is friends with recent Notre Dame running back commit Javian Osborne and attended Osborne's commitment announcement this past weekend. Osborne will get to work in trying to help the Irish flip his commitment. Brown is one of five wide receivers committed to USC's top-ranked 2026 class.

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Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidguli stopped by Waxahachie High last week. The program is also home to 2027 QB prospect Jerry Meyer III.

Brown caught 54 passes for 1,084 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior last fall. He clocked a 100-meter dash in 10.69 seconds earlier this spring.

Brown impressed the Rivals staff at the recent Rivals Camp Series in the Dallas area. He received a fourth star, moved into the Rivals250 at No. 243 overall and now the 32nd-ranked wide receiver.

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Not overly insightful, but some OK info here ... NIele has agreed to do a 1-on-1 interview with me. We're just working on the best timing.

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Look.....I like the odd night game.....I attended the USC game which was the first one in about 20 years and even attended the last home night game against Florida State.

Why? Why would you put Navy on at night in November......makes little sense to me.

ND is predicted to land him. Some on here were saying how important RB was yesterday- so here you go another top Rb recruit for 2026. He is from Georgia.