Five things we learned about Notre Dame football recruiting in December

The start of last month had fireworks with National Signing Day taking place Dec. 4, but then it was quieter the rest of the month. If you weren’t paying attention, though, you missed some big headlines. Blue & Gold recaps the final month of 2024 in the world of Notre Dame football recruiting.

1. Notre Dame pulled off a signing day stunner

Gotta start with Notre Dame landing top-100 overall recruit Madden Faraimo on National Signing Day. Maybe “stunner” is a bit of a strong term considering that the Irish were considered the favorite for much of his recruitment from what Blue & Gold reported, but intel leading up to the decision suggested that the elite linebacker would choose the Trojans. And Washington and Texas battled for Faraimo until the very end.

Notre Dame didn’t have any surprises in the bad sense with the Irish signing everyone it had committed going into the day. Faraimo gave an already strong class a big boost. As the nation’s No. 77 player and No. 4 linebacker per the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking, Faraimo is Notre Dame’s second-highest ranked player of the class, only behind five-star offensive tackle Will Black.

Faraimo posted a whopping 125 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 pass break up, 1 forced fumble and 2 blocked field goals during his 10-game senior campaign. He’s an incredible linebacker who could contribute in 2025 if needed.

2. Recruits are loving the playoff run

I got a unexpected text message from a 2026 recruit that I don’t correspond with often after Notre Dame beat Georgia, and the message simply read: “#GoIrish!”

Notre Dame has been selling recruits on the 4-for-40 academic factor and the chance to compete for a national championship. Although Notre Dame has been in the four-team playoff and has had really nice seasons the past decade or so, these prospects who grew up following college football haven’t seen Notre Dame do what the Irish are doing this season.

And now, Notre Dame doesn’t have to convince recruits that the Irish can compete for a title. They’re seeing it with their own two eyes. Beating Indiana at home to open the tournament was nice, but then knocking off the SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs — the team at the top of the sport the past few years — proves to the young players that Notre Dame is right there. And Marcus Freeman is the right man for the job.

And this is not me attempting to prop up Notre Dame. This is what my read is about how the playoff run has affected the minds of prospects (something I’ll dive more into after the run is over, whenever that is).

3. Big junior day is locked in

In December, we learned about Notre Dame scheduling its junior day for Jan. 25. We knew that the Irish would have this January junior day as they’ve had it each January in the Freeman era in South Bend. It’s the specific date and some specific recruits that we’ve reported on.

We have many more names to confirm at Blue & Gold, and the initial list that we’ve reported on is really strong. It’s going to be a huge recruiting weekend on campus.

The recruiting event falls five days after the national championship game takes place. One can imagine the possibilities …

4. Three new commits in 2026 class

It was a hot month for the Fighting Irish in the 2026 class. On the first day of December, Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School’s Chaston Smith, the No. 258 overall player and No. 17 cornerback in America per the On3 Industry Ranking, committed to Notre Dame over Clemson, Texas A&M and others.

Four days later, Allegan (Mich.) High’s Sullivan Garvin, he No. 387 player and No. 38 interior lineman nationally, picked the Irish over Indiana, Cincinnati, Washington and others.

And on Christmas Eve, Davison (Mich.) High’s Ben Nichols, the No. 209 overall recruit and No. 16 interior offensive lineman in the land, became the Irish’s second O-line verbal of the 2026 cycle. Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin were among Nichols’ offers.

5. Four Notre Dame early enrollees joined for bowl practice

On Dec. 23, Blue & Gold reported that Irish class of 2025 safety signees JaDon Blair and Ethan Long would participate in bowl practices with Notre Dame, along with quarterback Blake Hebert, who was previously reported on to do the same.

A surprise — for us — was that the aforementioned Faraimo joining the group as well. And in practice the media was able to view, Faraimo already looks the part.

Participating with the team in such a run can only get these four young men even more prepared for what life is like as a college football player. What a bonus this time for them is to get ready for ball at this level.