On300 four-star OL Ben Nichols commits to Notre Dame football

It’s been 14 months since Ben Nichols knew he wanted to be at Notre Dame. On Tuesday, the 2026 class four-star offensive lineman from Davison (Mich.) High made it official, announcing his verbal commitment to the Fighting Irish. 

Nichols, the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 3 player in Michigan and No. 16 interior offensive lineman nationally in 2026, chose Notre Dame over 17 Power Four offers. Wisconsin, Tennessee and Penn State finished as finalists for the No. 209 overall player in the class. He is the sixth player to pledge to the Irish in the 2026 cycle. Notre Dame now has the No. 11 class in the On3 Team Rankings.

“I knew Notre Dame was going to be a top contender from the first couple times I got there,” Nichols told Blue & Gold before publicizing his pledge. “I still wanted to explore my options a little bit. Honestly, there were a couple of schools that came close. …

“But when it comes down to academics, and the distance was a big part, and the tradition of a school, there’s really no place that does it better than Notre Dame.” 

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Nichols visited Notre Dame for the first time as a rising sophomore on June 3, 2023, to participate in the program’s “Lineman’s Challenge” for high school football prospects. After that performance, the Irish identified Nichols as an offer candidate. 

However, under coach Marcus Freeman and general manager Chad Bowden, Notre Dame typically does not offer scholarships to prospects until March 17 of their sophomore year for their St. Patrick’s Day-themed Pot of Gold Day recruiting event. 

About five months before, on Oct. 14, 2023, he attended the Southern Cal vs. Notre Dame game in South Bend. During that visit, it became clear that the Irish would be tough to beat if they offered. They finally did last Pot of Gold Day nine months ago. 

Game day visits solidified Notre Dame as the leader in Ben Nichols’ decision, led to commitment

This season, Nichols attended games at Notre Dame, Michigan State, Penn State, Wisconsin and Tennessee. Every school gave him a great pitch and solidified themselves as a contender for an official visit in the spring. 

But the travel wore Nichols down, and he did not want to continue it with the Irish remaining a clear-cut leader. 

“Honestly, I had a lot of people ask me at school — teachers, coaches, friends — ‘Why don’t you wait until official visits?’” Nichols said. “Because it’s pretty early in my timeline. 

“But I really just thought, I’ve known for a while this is the place that I wanted to be at. There’s no point in really traveling more and visiting other schools when I know this is the school that I would be at.” 

Though Nichols saw Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois in person, it did not stifle his interest in the Irish. In fact, the way the team has responded since then has strengthened his belief in the coaching staff.

“If you look at it now, I would have never believed anyone telling me that they lost to Northern Illinois three months ago,” he said. “That’s a testament to the work they’ve put in. Since then, they’ve just had a different perspective.  

“I bet you they’re going in there every day hungry, just from that loss. Now, they’re on a roll. It’s just fueling the fire more.” 

Freeman has been at the forefront of reinvigorating his team’s mindset to make a run to the College Football Playoff. It earned him a contract extension to stay at Notre Dame until 2030, meaning he’ll likely be there for Nichols’ entire career. That was a big deal for Nichols.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “He’s had success since he stepped in the game. He’s only proving people wrong as the season goes on. So, I’m very happy to have him as my head coach.” 

Nichols is also very fond of his primary recruiter, offensive line Joe Rudolph, noting that he has produced several multiple NFL Draft choices.

“That was a huge factor,” he said. “If you look at what he’s done, he’s put so many amazing dudes in the league. He can develop anybody. You could be an unranked tackle going in there, and you can come out a first/second-round pick. It’s really impressive how he develops players.”

The Ben Nichols file

Through three years of high school, Nichols has already developed into one of the top offensive linemen in the nation. 

The Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) named him to its Division 1 first team this past season. As a result, he was also first-team All-Region in Division 1, Region 2. MLive named him to its first team, Flint-Area Dream Team. 

If he maintains or improves his prospect ranking, he will graduate from Davison High as the school’s highest-rated football recruit. The last was three-star quarterback Brendan Sullivan, the No. 18 player in Michigan and No. 56 quarterback nationally, in the 2021 cycle. Sullivan’s father is Nichols’ offensive line coach at Davison High. 

With Nichols’ decision, he joins Allegan (Mich.) High three-star offensive lineman Sullivan Garvin on Notre Dame’s 2026 class commit list. He is the No. 7 prospect in the Great Lake State, the No. 38 interior offensive lineman in the country and the No. 386 overall player. 

In the internet recruiting era — which dates back to 2002 — the only two offensive linemen the Irish have signed from Michigan are Clarkston (Mich.) High’s Rocco Spindler in 2021 and Midland (Mich.) High’s Steve Elmer in 2013. They both chose the Irish over the Wolverines, among other programs.