Notre Dame recruiting heating up: Five things we learned about the Irish in April

The Notre Dame football program furthered its momentum on the recruiting trail in April, securing five verbal commitments and climbing to the No. 4 team in the 2026 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings. Here are five things we learned about the Fighting Irish in April.

Note: Unless otherwise indicated, all rankings referenced are according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

Notre Dame secures two of April’s most notable commitments

On Wednesday, On3 Recruits posted a graphic on X (formerly known as Twitter) highlighting the top recruits who committed in April. The Fighting Irish secured two of the 10 mentioned, including the top position.

These commitments came from Garner (N.C.) South Garner four-star Ebenezer Ewetade and Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park five-star Rodney Dunham, who pledged to Notre Dame on April 5 and April 10. Dunham and Ewetade are ranked as the No. 2 and No. 17 EDGE rushers nationally and the No. 3 and No. 8 players in North Carolina.

On3 views Dunham and Ewetade most favorably, ranking them as the No. 7 and No. 29 overall players in the class, respectively. With Ewetade also trending toward five-star status, Notre Dame has a chance to assemble its top EDGE duo since 2011, when they signed five-stars Aaron Lynch and Ishaq Williams, the No. 16 and No. 25 players in their class.

Notre Dame’s 2026 offensive line class is almost complete

In April, the Irish also received a verbal commitment from Portage (Mich.) Portage Northern four-star offensive lineman Gregory Patrick. Patrick is the No. 162 overall player and the No. 9 interior offensive lineman in the class, though Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph projects him as an offensive tackle.

Patrick’s commitment increased Notre Dame’s offensive line class to four members, joining Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley’s Tyler Merrill, Davison (Mich.) High’s Ben Nichols and Allegan (Mich.) High’s Sullivan Garvin. Merrill and Nichols are four-star prospects ranked as the No. 4 and No. 20 interior offensive linemen in the class, while Garvin is a three-star recruit ranked No. 33 at the position.

With four offensive line commitments in place, Notre Dame’s focus has narrowed to two main targets: Garner (N.C.) South Garner’s Ekene Ogboko and Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College’s Grayson McKeogh. Both are four-star offensive tackles ranked as the No. 6 and No. 23 players at their positions. McKeogh is considered a strong candidate to complete the class.

Key Irish target Joey O’Brien adjusts official visit schedule

Another La Salle College recruit in the 2026 class that Notre Dame hopes to land is four-star safety Joey O’Brien.

On April 10, O’Brien narrowed his recruitment to six schools: Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Tennessee. He also made a significant change to his official visit schedule, replacing Ohio State with Notre Dame for the weekend of June 20.

Originally slated to visit Notre Dame the week of June 3, O’Brien will instead head to South Bend just days before the summer recruiting dead period begins. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound safety is ranked as the No. 70 overall player, the No. 5 safety nationally and the No. 2 player in Pennsylvania in the class.

Tight end recruiting is coming together

Before April, Notre Dame’s tight end recruiting for the 2026 class was uncertain. That is no longer the case.

The Irish are trending for Waukee (Iowa) High four-star Evan Jacobson, the No. 217 overall player and the No. 12 tight end in the class. Jacobson visited Notre Dame for the first time on April 4. Since then, On3’s vice president of recruiting and transfer portal Steve Wiltfong and Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer have predicted Jacobson will commit to Notre Dame.

Additionally, Notre Dame is in the final group for Great Bend (Kan.) High’s Ian Premer and Billings (Mont.) Billings West’s Matt Ludwig. Both are four-star prospects ranked as the No. 4 and No. 20 tight ends in the class, respectively. Premer included Notre Dame in his top five on April 24, and Ludwig visited campus on April 22.

Another tight end to watch is South Elgin (Ill.) High three-star Gavin Mueller. He has Notre Dame among his four finalists — along with Colorado, LSU, and Wisconsin — ahead of his May 14 commitment date. While the Irish remain in the mix, they initially preferred Mueller to delay his decision.

Notre Dame’s recruiting success a team effort

The Irish’s momentum on the recruiting trail reflects the program’s collective effort, bolstered by several key hires that Marcus Freeman made this spring. The recruiting personnel department now includes four new members: Mike Martin, Jourdan Blake, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Ariella Ellis. While their titles vary, their contributions have been unified. Each has focused on helping Notre Dame impress recruits.

“Right now, everybody’s wearing a recruiting hat,” Freeman told reporters on April 5. “From me to Mike Martin to Jourdan to Myron — everybody. All hands are on deck because there are a lot of kids and families on campus.

“As we get through this spring cycle, we’ll decipher, ‘What exactly is Myron’s only role outside of recruiting?’ I think all of them are responsible for talent acquisition, evaluation, and helping coaches prepare. Everybody does a lot of different things, and titles don’t always reflect what a person does. All these guys encompass a lot of different responsibilities.”

Even with the nation’s No. 4 recruiting class, Notre Dame’s efforts suggest they are just getting started.