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Notre Dame 2026 tight end recruiting: Cornhusker State's Isaac Jensen names Irish in top 10

Kyle Kellyby:Kyle Kelly•03/08/25•

ByKyleKelly

Isaac Jensen Millard South
Omaha (Neb.) Millard South tight end Isaac Jensen.

One of Notre Dame football’s six new tight end targets has named the Fighting Irish one of his favorites entering the spring. 

On Friday, Omaha (Neb.) Millard South three-star recruit Isaac Jensen announced his top 10 schools on social media. The 6-foot-6, 225-pounder is down to Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida State, Iowa State, Kansas State, LSU, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas A&M and Wisconsin. 

According to the On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — Jensen is the No. 3 player in Nebraska, the No. 30 tight end nationally and the No. 565 overall player in the 2026 class. 

Jensen also received offers from Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Duke, Vanderbilt, Stanford, Colorado and UCF, but he did not include those programs in his top 10. 

Irish offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Denbrock offered Jensen on Jan. 28, 2025, after stopping by his high school during the NCAA recruiting contact period. It was the first time Denbrock connected with Jensen. So, the veteran Irish assistant had to be transparent with the No. 9 tight end in the Midwest about the timing of his offer.

​​“(Denbrock) stressed to me that he knows we haven’t been in contact, really at all,” Jensen told Blue & Gold on Feb. 6. “He said he was sorry. But they were focused on the national championship, the (College Football) Playoff and their season. I totally understand that.” 

Who are Notre Dame football’s 2026 class tight end targets?

In addition to Jensen, Denbrock has extended scholarships to Great Bend (Kan.) High’s Ian Premer, Dunlap (Ill.) High’s Mack Sutter, Billings (Mont.) Billings West’s Matt Ludwig, Waukee (Iowa) High’s Evan Jacobson and South Elgin (Ill.) High’s Gavin Mueller. Premer, Sutter, Ludwig and Jacobson are four-star prospects who rank as the country’s Nos. 4, 6, 9 and 11 tight ends, respectively. Like Jensen, Mueller is a three-star prospect but ranks as the No. 39 tight end in the class. 

Premer and Jensen are the only two recruits who Blue & Gold has confirmed that they have unofficial visits scheduled to Notre Dame. Premer, the No. 36 overall player and No. 1 player in Kansas, will be on campus on March 21. Then, Jensen will come to town on April 1. Jensen also has official visits scheduled to Missouri (June 6-8) and Nebraska (June 13-16). 

The only tight end recruit with an official visit on the books to Notre Dame is Mt. Zion (Ill.) High four-star JC Anderson. The 6-6, 230-pound junior will return to South Bend the weekend of June 20, his fourth trip to campus. He ranks as the No. 125 overall player, No. 8 tight end in America and No. 3 recruit in Illinois in the class.

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