Notre Dame pushing for top-five class in On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

Notre Dame made its biggest splash of the 2026 recruiting cycle on Thursday, as Charlotte Myers Park five-star EDGE Rodney Dunham announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish.

Head coach Marcus Freeman and ND beat out Georgia, Tennessee, Duke and South Carolina for the elite 6-foot-4 playmaker. The No. 19 overall prospect and No. 3 EDGE in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, Dunham is now the top-ranked prospect in the mix in South Bend.

With the addition of the five-star, Notre Dame now has the No. 6 class in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. It leaped Clemson and Texas A&M and is now in position to push for its top class of the Freeman era.

“Well no school compares with ND,” Dunham told On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “The level of football you get to play, plus the degree you earn, plus the connections you get, plus the type of people you’re around. There is nobody else in the country that has that.”

The class now features nine commits, seven of whom are blue-chippers.

Fighting Irish have rock-solid base to 2026 class

Dunham is the second big splash of the month for the Irish when it comes to pass-rushers out of North Carolina. On April 5, South Garner (N.C.) four-star EDGE Ebenezer Ewetade announced his commitment. Ewetade is a major On3 outlier, ranking as the No. 36 recruit in the On300.

“I feel like they’re going to be increasing, winning more games, going to National Championships,” Ewetade told On3. “The stats don’t lie. The developmental part. I feel like Coach Washington can make me a better d-linemen. I’ve seen workouts online and all the good stuff that can make me better on the field.”

Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley four-star interior offensive lineman Tyler Merrill is the No. 5 IOL in the nation and a top-120 recruit overall. He committed at the end of January and is the top-ranked commit on the offensive side of the ball for ND to date.

Merrill is one of three offensive linemen committed, alongside Davison (Mich.) four-star IOL Ben Nichols and Allegan (Mich.) three-star IOL Sullivan Garvin. Nichols is the No. 20 IOL in the cycle.

Matthews (N.C.) Weddington four-star linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. has been in the class since Nov. 12 last fall and is a top-200 recruit alongside Lake Mary (Fla.) four-star quarterback Noah Grubbs, who pledged last June. Grubbs is currently the No. 14 QB in the nation.

“The tradition,” Grubbs told On3 about why he chose ND. “The atmosphere. Obviously the history. The prestigious school that it is.”

Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie four-star cornerback Chaston Smith and Boca Raton (Fla.) Saint Andrew’s three-star wide receiver Dylan Faison round out the class.