Notre Dame football wrapped up its spring visit season with Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game. A big focus for the weekend was so many of the 2025 commitments returning to campus, getting to hang out with each other and spend some time with the 2024 signees who will join the team In June.
Notre Dame’s so far along in the 2025 cycle with 19 commitments that the Irish had more targets on campus in the 2026 class than the 2025 class. But if we go back to include earlier in the week, Notre Dame got three talented 2025 targets on campus.
2025 RB target James Simon
Though Notre Dame’s need for Simon seems low, the Irish remain interested in him following a “really great visit,” a source told me. As I mentioned in The Heat Index, it’s a little difficult to figure out where Notre Dame fits in the bigger picture for Simon. However, for the first time I heard a team other than LSU considered a serious contender: Texas. That will be worth monitoring as Simon shares his official visit plans.
2025 OL target Josh Petty
As I mentioned in The Heat Index, Petty’s quick visit to Notre Dame on Wednesday felt like this start of his Irish recruitment. And it’s one that Notre Dame thinks it has found a spot in as he considers scheduling an official visit. We’ll see if the Irish can do some catching up in Petty’s recruitment. I did hear from a source that Clemson is the perceived leader for Petty, though his recruitment seems a bit more wide open from the outside.
2025 WR target Jayvan Boggs
Boggs’ public flirtation with Notre Dame came while on his first campus visit as he tweeted a photo from the Irish Athletics Center on Friday and a photo with head coach Marcus Freeman on Saturday. Notre Dame already landed a spot in his top seven alongside Georgia, Florida, Missouri, UCF, USC and Texas prior to the visit. But the Irish haven’t landed a spot on his official visit schedule yet with trips to USC, Georgia and Missouri planned for June. A source described Boggs’ visit as “good,” but I’m not getting the sense that Notre Dame jumped up toward the top of those seven schools.
Not all of the expected 2026 targets made it to campus. DE Evan Harvey, DE Trenton Henderson and CB Jordan Thomas were no-shows. But the Irish did have a late addition to the list: DE Braeden Jones. He’s one of three 2026 targets who visited who I think Notre Dame’s probably leading for.
2026 DE target Braeden Jones
Jones already has the feeling of a “gotta get” recruit for the Irish in the 2026 class. He’s a profile fit, he has the size and strength and he’s starting to draw attention in Chicago from the SEC. Notre Dame likes its early positioning with Jones.
2026 DT target Elijah Golden
Golden hasn’t been shy about his appreciation for Notre Dame. So it shouldn’t be surprising that he had a “really good visit,” per a source. He spent some time with Freeman while on campus. I think ND leads until further notice.
2026 S target Nick Reddish
@Charleston Bowles caught up with Reddish to discuss how well his Notre Dame visit went. His positive thoughts were shared behind the scenes as well. If Reddish checks another box or two in his recruitment, he may have the green light to commit if he wants to.
2026 LB target Maurice Barnes
Notre Dame connected well with both Barnes and his family during the visit. The first impression of Barnes is he’s a fit at Notre Dame. Penn State should be a major player in his recruitment too.
2026 LB target Tai'Yion King
King went as far as shouting out ND recruiting staffer Carter Auman for the connection they made on his visit. Notre Dame believes it has a real shot at pulling him out of Texas due as so much about the visit and Notre Dame’s football program seemed to resonate with him.
2026 VYP target Cincere Johnson
Notre Dame loves what it sees in Johnson. And so far he’s exceeded expectations in terms of being a fit with the Irish. He’ll be a hard pull away from Ohio State if the Buckeyes want him, so we’ll see if he becomes a priority there.
2026 ATH Jermaine Santana-Diaz
Notre Dame became the first program to offer Santana-Diaz last month, and the Irish remain alone on his offer list. He’s expected to return to Notre Dame for a camp this summer so the Irish can verify their interest in him.
2026 LB target Markel Dabney
Notre Dame hosted Dabney for three days and he plans to be back for a game in the fall. The Irish should be in the mix for Dabney for quite some time.
Notre Dame’s so far along in the 2025 cycle with 19 commitments that the Irish had more targets on campus in the 2026 class than the 2025 class. But if we go back to include earlier in the week, Notre Dame got three talented 2025 targets on campus.
2025 RB target James Simon
Though Notre Dame’s need for Simon seems low, the Irish remain interested in him following a “really great visit,” a source told me. As I mentioned in The Heat Index, it’s a little difficult to figure out where Notre Dame fits in the bigger picture for Simon. However, for the first time I heard a team other than LSU considered a serious contender: Texas. That will be worth monitoring as Simon shares his official visit plans.
2025 OL target Josh Petty
As I mentioned in The Heat Index, Petty’s quick visit to Notre Dame on Wednesday felt like this start of his Irish recruitment. And it’s one that Notre Dame thinks it has found a spot in as he considers scheduling an official visit. We’ll see if the Irish can do some catching up in Petty’s recruitment. I did hear from a source that Clemson is the perceived leader for Petty, though his recruitment seems a bit more wide open from the outside.
2025 WR target Jayvan Boggs
Boggs’ public flirtation with Notre Dame came while on his first campus visit as he tweeted a photo from the Irish Athletics Center on Friday and a photo with head coach Marcus Freeman on Saturday. Notre Dame already landed a spot in his top seven alongside Georgia, Florida, Missouri, UCF, USC and Texas prior to the visit. But the Irish haven’t landed a spot on his official visit schedule yet with trips to USC, Georgia and Missouri planned for June. A source described Boggs’ visit as “good,” but I’m not getting the sense that Notre Dame jumped up toward the top of those seven schools.
Not all of the expected 2026 targets made it to campus. DE Evan Harvey, DE Trenton Henderson and CB Jordan Thomas were no-shows. But the Irish did have a late addition to the list: DE Braeden Jones. He’s one of three 2026 targets who visited who I think Notre Dame’s probably leading for.
2026 DE target Braeden Jones
Jones already has the feeling of a “gotta get” recruit for the Irish in the 2026 class. He’s a profile fit, he has the size and strength and he’s starting to draw attention in Chicago from the SEC. Notre Dame likes its early positioning with Jones.
2026 DT target Elijah Golden
Golden hasn’t been shy about his appreciation for Notre Dame. So it shouldn’t be surprising that he had a “really good visit,” per a source. He spent some time with Freeman while on campus. I think ND leads until further notice.
2026 S target Nick Reddish
@Charleston Bowles caught up with Reddish to discuss how well his Notre Dame visit went. His positive thoughts were shared behind the scenes as well. If Reddish checks another box or two in his recruitment, he may have the green light to commit if he wants to.
2026 LB target Maurice Barnes
Notre Dame connected well with both Barnes and his family during the visit. The first impression of Barnes is he’s a fit at Notre Dame. Penn State should be a major player in his recruitment too.
2026 LB target Tai'Yion King
King went as far as shouting out ND recruiting staffer Carter Auman for the connection they made on his visit. Notre Dame believes it has a real shot at pulling him out of Texas due as so much about the visit and Notre Dame’s football program seemed to resonate with him.
2026 VYP target Cincere Johnson
Notre Dame loves what it sees in Johnson. And so far he’s exceeded expectations in terms of being a fit with the Irish. He’ll be a hard pull away from Ohio State if the Buckeyes want him, so we’ll see if he becomes a priority there.
2026 ATH Jermaine Santana-Diaz
Notre Dame became the first program to offer Santana-Diaz last month, and the Irish remain alone on his offer list. He’s expected to return to Notre Dame for a camp this summer so the Irish can verify their interest in him.
2026 LB target Markel Dabney
Notre Dame hosted Dabney for three days and he plans to be back for a game in the fall. The Irish should be in the mix for Dabney for quite some time.