Notre Dame keeping tabs on 2026 Chicagoland offensive lineman
Notre Dame looks to be done with its 2025 offensive line recruiting efforts and has a good head start on the 2026 class. The Fighting Irish already have several offers out along the offensive line and are evaluating a handful of others.
Position coach Joe Rudolph and Co. will look all over the country for offensive line prospects, starting with close to South Bend. And the Irish are keeping tabs on a rising junior from a Northwest Chicago suburb.
Notre Dame had its big Irish Invasion camp at the beginning of June, and Barrington (Ill.) High’s Owen Fors was on campus and working out with the Notre Dame staff. Fors, who already holds several Division I scholarship offers, is firmly on the Irish’s radar after the camp, and he had a great experience at it.
“I had a great time competing at the camp,” said Fors. “Notre Dame had a lot to offer and a beautiful campus as well. There were a lot of great players and competition at the camp, and it was a great feeling going up against some of the best.”
There were probably half of the amount of offensive linemen at the camp compared to the quarterbacks, so the O-line group got a lot of individual instruction from the staff.
“The coaching staff was amazing, and I was able to take away lots of skills and instructions from the camp,” Fors added. “Coach Rudolph and [offensive line assistant] Coach [Rob] Delaney both helped me a bunch, and I learned a lot from them.”
Fors also camped at Iowa and Wisconsin in June and is hopeful to earn offers from both of those schools, along with the Fighting Irish.
“A Notre Dame offer would be huge for me, coming from such a historic program, and it would mean a lot to me and my family,” he said.
The 6-4, 280-pounder is hoping to return to South Bend for a game day visit this fall.
Northwestern, Illinois, Indiana, Toledo, Boston College, Akron and Miami (Ohio) are among the schools that have offered Fors.
He does not have an On3 or On3 Industry Ranking yet, but Rivals lists him as a three-star player.
