Joey O'Brien high 4-star 2026 class (Hard Commit to ND) plus discussion about NDs 2026 recruiting class overall

[chaseball]

Hearing he had a good visit at Oregon and now Oregon is leading followed by PSU and ND. He is visiting ND June 13-15th. I hope they put on the full court press/spare no expense.

ND needs to find a way to close.

EDIT/UPDATE 6-21-25: O'BRIEN COMMITTED TO NOTRE DAME ON 6-20-25

 

[sjb75]

Cue up Golson.

 

[1Redrum]

Players almost always feel good after a visit....ND has the last visit and I think it is between Penn State and ND.

 

[savvyandsassier]

This class is obviously going to be different than the last couple. It will stay top ten maybe even top five when it's all signed and sealed.

 

[NIN Irish]

Cue up Golson.

Cue up the alternates.

 

[chaseball]

This class is obviously going to be different than the last couple. It will stay top ten maybe even top five when it's all signed and sealed.

agreed. i haven't seen ND stockpile this much talent in the #100-#200 overall range (borderline high 4-star range) probably ever. Despite not making much impact with top 100 recruits, when you successfully stockpile this much mid-to-high 4-star talent, you are building a nice roster. I also like the talent distribution too .. we're getting good prospects at important positions

still a ways to go, however, to close the talent gap with the blue bloods and modern powers who are dominating on the recruiting trail

 

[chaseball]

Players almost always feel good after a visit....ND has the last visit and I think it is between Penn State and ND.

You make a solid point but Oregon's football facilities are top notch and their progressive stance on NIL/paying players whatever it takes to get them there, makes them legit competition with anybody considering them.

I think we lost Peyton Bowen (5-star safety) to them several years ago before he eventually flipped to OU on signing day. Just saying. Oregon can't be overlooked.

 

[sjb75]

Cue up Golson.

 

[JimMc]

O’Brien falls in love with the last coaches he visited, he raved about his Clemson visit.

We do get the last OV, but he could end up committing to any of the four. Very hard kid to read for the beat guys.

 

[ZibbyQuinn]

Cue up Golson.

Cue up Gav, never has anything remotely beneficial to offer the board besides playing hall monitor. Shouldn’t you be throwing rocks and burning down your city?

 

[NIN Irish]

View embedded media

Hearing he had a good visit at Oregon and now Oregon is leading followed by PSU and ND. He is visiting ND June 13-15th. I hope they put on the full court press/spare no expense.

ND needs to find a way to close.

https://atozsports.com/college-football/notre-dame-fighting-irish-news/notre-dame-football-recruiting-joey-obrien-clemson-oregon-penn-state-conflicting-reports/

Did you hear how the visit to ND was last weekend?

 

[iLOVEtohurdle41]

Cue up Gav, never has anything remotely beneficial to offer the board besides playing hall monitor. Shouldn’t you be throwing rocks and burning down your city?

Best post I've seen yet. Thank you

 

[Golson5]

Joey Obrien and Khary Adams visited this weekend. Both are elite players. Gotta close. We're right there for both

Obrien announces June 20th

Adams announces June 28th

 

[sjb75]

Did you hear how the visit to ND was last weekend?

All visits are outstanding.

 

[sjb75]

O’Brien falls in love with the last coaches he visited, he raved about his Clemson visit.

We do get the last OV, but he could end up committing to any of the four. Very hard kid to read for the beat guys.

Agree here. Good post. The kid has a company line with every school he visits, tough read. That said, Notre Dame has a good shot.

 

[hoopsstar12]

Whoa Nelly! 2 crystal balls for O'Brien today one of them from Wiltfong. Link: https://fightingirishwire.usatoday....en-nick-reddish-devin-fitzgerald/84260803007/
I don't know who this Charlie Thom character is but the staff/Rudolph must like him

 

[Golson5]

We have like 9 crystal balls out there. Should be a very fruitful next month in recruiting if we hit on all these

 

[sjb75]

Whoa Nelly! 2 crystal balls for O'Brien today one of them from Wiltfong. Link: https://fightingirishwire.usatoday....en-nick-reddish-devin-fitzgerald/84260803007/
I don't know who this Charlie Thom character is but the staff/Rudolph must like him

USC is saying they will sign 35 kids for 2026. Hell, 70% of them could arguably never start.

 

[chaseball]

Its looking really good for ND here--it would be really nice to close on the #6 safety in the 247 composite.

 

[chaseball]

Joey O'Brien is like a Kyle Hamilton lite as a prospect (tall, long wingspan, rangy fast athlete, with great instincts & ball skills, labeled a "ball hawk")

 

[hoopsstar12]

McKeogh just committed. OL. Grayson

 

[sjb75]

McKeogh just committed. OL. Grayson

Right out of central casting.

 

[Golson5]

Joey O'Brien is like a Kyle Hamilton lite as a prospect (tall, long wingspan, rangy fast athlete, with great instincts & ball skills, labeled a "ball hawk")

O'brien was better than Kyle as a junior. Kyle took a huge jump as a senior.

Pretty Good chance O'Brien ends up as a 5star. He was underrated but recently has been shooting up the rankings like he should have been

 

[chaseball]

O'brien was better than Kyle as a junior. Kyle took a huge jump as a senior.

Pretty Good chance O'Brien ends up as a 5star. He was underrated but recently has been shooting up the rankings like he should have been

KHs rise up the boards was unprecedented, we'd be silly to assume that JO is inevitably going to be a 5-star. I'll believe it when I see it.

On another note, I can't imagine -- given JOs suitors -- that NIL money wasn't apart of his recruitment. If ND lands him, we have to assume that ND is now competing with the big boys with aggressive NIL offers (BIG NIL offers to prospects straight out of HS) which would be a big development in the big picture operations of the football program.

 

[Golson5]

KHs rise up the boards was unprecedented, we'd be silly to assume that JO is inevitably going to be a 5-star. I'll believe it when I see it.

On another note, I can't imagine -- given JOs suitors -- that NIL money wasn't apart of his recruitment. If ND lands him, we have to assume that ND is now competing with the big boys with aggressive NIL offers (BIG NIL offers to prospects straight out of HS) which would be a big development in the big picture operations of the football program.

That's old news with the NIL. I told you we are very competitive in the NIL world. Probably not the top and we aren't going to overpay for players but very competitive.

It's not silly to assume. 247 already bumped him up to a 5 star. On3 composite rating has him 40 overall. 8 spots below a 5 star.

If he had a modest jump as a SR, he will be a 5 star. In reality, he's already a 5 star. He's a freak. That's why OSU, Oregon PSU, Clemson ND all wanted him badly.

 

[chaseball]

That's old news with the NIL. I told you we are very competitive in the NIL world. Probably not the top and we aren't going to overpay for players but very competitive.

It's not silly to assume. 247 already bumped him up to a 5 star. On3 composite rating has him 40 overall. 8 spots below a 5 star.

If he had a modest jump as a SR, he will be a 5 star. In reality, he's already a 5 star. He's a freak. That's why OSU, Oregon PSU, Clemson ND all wanted him badly.

Of course it's possible, but it isn't inevitable. There's a difference.

Also, KH rose from a 3-star #1100 overall to high 4-star #60 overall in the 247 composite over the course of his recruiting cycle. And was still obviously underrated. That is what i meant by unprecedented. JO has been a 4-star to high 4-star on most services since his initial ratings.

 

[Golson5]

Of course it's possible, but it isn't inevitable. There's a difference.

Also, KH rose from a 3-star #1100 overall to high 4-star #60 overall in the 247 composite over the course of his recruiting cycle. And was still obviously underrated. That is what i meant by unprecedented. JO has been a 4-star to high 4-star on most services since his initial ratings.

Just like with Hamilton, regardless of rankings, if we land O'brien we landed a 5 star talent. It didn't matter what Kyle was ranked (60th) or what they rank Obrien now (65th). He's going to move up but it doesnt matter, he's a dude

By the way, so is Khary Adams

 

[chaseball]

Just like with Hamilton, regardless of rankings, if we land O'brien we landed a 5 star talent. It didn't matter what Kyle was ranked (60th) or what they rank Obrien now (65th). He's going to move up but it doesnt matter, he's a dude

By the way, so is Khary Adams

what does this even mean?

your ranking is representative of your evaluation as a prospect (the composite ranking is representative of your eval as a prospect from 3 of the 4 major recruiting services)

you aren't "a 5 star prospect regardless of ranking" you are what your ranking/evaluations say you are.

 

[iLOVEtohurdle41]

what does this even mean?

your ranking is representative of your evaluation as a prospect (the composite ranking is representative of your eval as a prospect from 3 of the 4 major recruiting services)

you aren't "a 5 star prospect regardless of ranking" you are what your ranking/evaluations say you are.

Regardless, we might be looking at a top 5 class here if we execute. Something that is quite remarkable as you know Chase.

 

[ZibbyQuinn]

what does this even mean?

your ranking is representative of your evaluation as a prospect (the composite ranking is representative of your eval as a prospect from 3 of the 4 major recruiting services)

you aren't "a 5 star prospect regardless of ranking" you are what your ranking/evaluations say you are.

Insert Joe Alt into the conversations..bull shit. Joe was a 5 star prospect the services missed

 

[sjb75]

Insert Joe Alt into the conversations..bull shit. Joe was a 5 star prospect the services missed

Joe Alt wasn’t a 5-Star his senior year of HS. Wasn’t close, IMO.

They didn’t miss.

 

[Golson5]

what does this even mean?

your ranking is representative of your evaluation as a prospect (the composite ranking is representative of your eval as a prospect from 3 of the 4 major recruiting services)

you aren't "a 5 star prospect regardless of ranking" you are what your ranking/evaluations say you are.

Yeah okay 🤣. That's like saying Tom Brady is a 6th rd pick. No the evaluation was wrong. Just like it was wrong with Kyle Hamilton. His talent was obvious. He was an obvious 5 star. They were wrong. Same with Obrien. It's obvious. Sometimes, well actually a lot of times, the evaluations are bad.

It doesn't matter where Kyle was ranked. He was obvious as a 5 star. Same with Obrien

 

[Fightingirish595]

He got a crystal ball today to be Irish from a Clemson person

 

[futuredomer]

All 🍀

 

[ZibbyQuinn]

Joe Alt wasn’t a 5-Star his senior year of HS. Wasn’t close, IMO.

They didn’t miss.

He just happened to be 5 months later? Ludacris.

 

[ZibbyQuinn]

Joe Alt wasn’t a 5-Star his senior year of HS. Wasn’t close, IMO.

They didn’t miss.

Rivals Outlook for a 3 star 5.6 prospect:

NFL potential: While not expected to be a top NFL draft pick, they are deemed to have mid- to low-end pro potential.

Yea they missed Gav

 

[sjb75]

Rivals Outlook for a 3 star 5.6 prospect:

NFL potential: While not expected to be a top NFL draft pick, they are deemed to have mid- to low-end pro potential.

Yea they missed Gav

Rivals didn't miss anything with Alt.

Some kids develop more after high school.

Alt developed more.

To blame Rivals for a missed evaluation, IMO, is bullshit.

 

[Golson5]

Rivals didn't miss anything with Alt.

Some kids develop more after high school.

Alt developed more.

To blame Rivals for a missed evaluation, IMO, is bullshit.

That's part of evaluating players. Projecting what they will become. They missed. Happens to everyone

He had prototype height and length and athleticism with pro bloodlines

 

[chaseball]

Regardless, we might be looking at a top 5 class here if we execute. Something that is quite remarkable as you know Chase.

it is going to take replacing about 5 of the guys ranked in the #100-#200 range with guys ranked in the #1-#100 range to get inside the top 5 imo. I believe 247 has a talent calculator where you can add and subtract prospects and see what your overall recruiting score is under different hypotheticals based on how your school finishes the class. Im going off of old browsing sessions at 247, but I believe in order to get into the top 5 you'd need to have a total recruiting class score of 300-325ish (depending on the year). I'm sure someone will correct me if im wrong or when i get to a desktop and can comfortably look it up i'll do it myself. It'll be interesting to know what the aggregate top 5 recruiting class scores are over the last 3 years and compare how far ND is from hitting that milestone. It would be a HUGE one as ND hasn't finished inside the top 5 in recruiting since the 2012 or 2013 class during the national title run.

Yeah okay 🤣. That's like saying Tom Brady is a 6th rd pick. No the evaluation was wrong. Just like it was wrong with Kyle Hamilton. His talent was obvious. He was an obvious 5 star. They were wrong. Same with Obrien. It's obvious. Sometimes, well actually a lot of times, the evaluations are bad.

It doesn't matter where Kyle was ranked. He was obvious as a 5 star. Same with Obrien

I wasn't clear in that post you quoted. What i meant to say is that your evals/rating AS A PROSPECT is what your eval/rating says you are.

Yes some guys are late bloomers or the prognosticators just whiffed completely (this is super rare) and NDs scouting has been top notch as they've hit consistently on guys who ended up being superior to what their prospect rank was. Hard to pinpoint whether the player development or the scouting deserves the praise or a little bit of both, but NDs scouting & player development has been top notch ESPECIALLY UNDER MF. It has been a real plus to the ND organization since BK era, but MF has turned it up a notch the last two seasons. ND might have one of the best scouting & player development operations in college football right now which makes sense when you consider they are paying top dollar for one of the best coaching staffs on the planet (maybe behind only OSUs).

what I meant to say was yes, there are some edge cases of course, but the industry-scouts that do the composite ratings that we rely so heavily on are going based on the best information they have available at the time. They are rating PROSPECTS not PLAYERS. That subtle difference means everything. Once a PROSPECT gets on campus, what his prospect rating was/is doesn't really matter anymore. Now he's being evaluated as a PLAYER.

Guys like Joe Alt, or JOK, or BenMo (and countless others) were middling prospects that turned into great players.

 

[Golson5]

it is going to take replacing about 5 of the guys ranked in the #100-#200 range with guys ranked in the #1-#100 range to get inside the top 5 imo. I believe 247 has a talent calculator where you can add and subtract prospects and see what your overall recruiting score is under different hypotheticals based on how your school finishes the class. Im going off of old browsing sessions at 247, but I believe in order to get into the top 5 you'd need to have a total recruiting class score of 300-325ish (depending on the year). I'm sure someone will correct me if im wrong or when i get to a desktop and can comfortably look it up i'll do it myself. It'll be interesting to know what the aggregate top 5 recruiting class scores are over the last 3 years and compare how far ND is from hitting that milestone. It would be a HUGE one as ND hasn't finished inside the top 5 in recruiting since the 2012 or 2013 class during the national title run.

I wasn't clear in that post you quoted. What i meant to say is that your evals/rating AS A PROSPECT is what your eval/rating says you are.

Yes some guys are late bloomers or the prognosticators just whiffed completely (this is super rare) and NDs scouting has been top notch as they've hit consistently on guys who ended up being superior to what their prospect rank was. Hard to pinpoint whether the player development or the scouting deserves the praise or a little bit of both, but NDs scouting & player development has been top notch ESPECIALLY UNDER MF. It has been a real plus to the ND organization since BK era, but MF has turned it up a notch the last two seasons. ND might have one of the best scouting & player development operations in college football right now which makes sense when you consider they are paying top dollar for one of the best coaching staffs on the planet (maybe behind only OSUs).

what I meant to say was yes, there are some edge cases of course, but the industry-scouts that do the composite ratings that we rely so heavily on are going based on the best information they have available at the time. They are rating PROSPECTS not PLAYERS. That subtle difference means everything. Once a PROSPECT gets on campus, what his prospect rating was/is doesn't really matter anymore. Now he's being evaluated as a PLAYER.

Guys like Joe Alt, or JOK, or BenMo (and countless others) were middling prospects that turned into great players.

No. They were top rated guys who were improperly rated. BenMo got offered during his Sr year by Saban and he wanted him badly. Every ND site said how is this guy rated so lowly. They all thought his film was great

The prognosticators whiffing is not super rare. It is pretty common. Looking back at some 5 stars there are many busts and players I have never heard of. Same with the top 100 lists and so on. Then you have the Cam Wards of the world. It's not super rare at all for them to whiff