Why 2026 safety Jermaine Santana-Diaz is such unique target for Notre Dame
Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point class of 2026 safety Jermaine Santana-Diaz can claim something that’s very unique in modern-day football recruiting. And it’s that Notre Dame was his first scholarship offer.
On St. Patrick’s Day March 17, Santana-Diaz announced on social media that he earned an offer from the Fighting Irish, which was a part of Notre Dame’s Pot of Gold initiative and Marcus Freeman’s official launch of the 2026 class. The 6-1, 185-pounder was one of several dozen prospects to pick up an offer from the Irish that day.
On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, Santana-Diaz spoke with Notre Dame director of player personnel Chad Bowden, who told the rising junior safety about the good news.
“I was at a loss for words,” Santana-Diaz told Blue & Gold.
If a smaller, in-state Group of Five school would’ve offered Santana-Diaz first, he would’ve jumped for joy. But it came from Notre Dame, which certainly caught him by surprise.
“(Bowden) said that they were going back and forth the whole week on whether or not they were going to offer me,” noted Santana-Diaz. “They liked my speed, physicality and they want me to come up to their camp this summer.
“A lot of the coaches started following me on Twitter, so I thought it might be coming, but I was trying to be patient about it.”
Programs as big as Notre Dame often aren’t the first program to offer a prospect, but the Irish staff liked their evaluation and pulled the trigger on it. It’s a big moment for Santana-Diaz, and he’s gearing up for the spring evaluation period, which is when college coaches can hit the road again to see recruits in action.
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If he shows out, more offers could be on the way. Santana-Diaz hasn’t picked up offer No. 2 just yet.
“A lot of my teammates who have offers tell me that the first offer feels good, but you’ll want more,” he added. “And I feel that.”
Santana-Diaz notes that he doesn’t know a lot about Notre Dame, but he paid closed attention to the Fighting Irish when Kyle Hamilton was playing in South Bend.
There was another prospect who received his first offer on Pot of Gold day, and that was 2026 wide receiver Dylan Faison, who announced his commitment to Notre Dame the following day. Faison is the younger brother of rising sophomore and Irish receiver Jordan Faison.
