Four-star RB Jonaz Walton commits to Notre Dame football

Notre Dame’s hot streak in the 2026 class continued on Wednesday afternoon, as Carrollton (Ga.) Central’s Jonaz Walton committed to the Fighting Irish.

The four-star running back announced his pledge during an On3 live stream, picking the Irish over finalists Alabama, Florida, Stanford and Tennessee.

“When I first visited there, I felt a different vibe about the campus,” Walton told Blue & Gold before going public with his commitment. “If you’ve been there, you know what I’m talking about. It’s a different place — the prestige and they’re a great football team as well as an awesome school academically. You can’t find that at such a high level in many other places than Notre Dame.

“Coach [Marcus] Freeman is a great head coach. It’s amazing. And even though Coach [Deland] McCullough left, they didn’t drop at all for me. Coach [Ja’Juan] Seider was great coming in; he was easy to interact with.

“It was a mixture of things to make it easy to commit to Notre Dame.”

Notre Dame offered Walton as part of its Pot of Gold Day last March, and then-Irish running backs coach Deland McCullough made the 5-9, 190-pounder a major priority. Walton visited South Bend for the first time in January 2025 and loved the trip, but a couple weeks later, McCullough took the running backs coach job with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Freeman hired Seider to replace McCullough, and Seider was already recruiting Walton while holding the same position at Penn State. Walton informed Seider of his commitment privately during a home visit May 6.

“He did a very good job recruiting me,” Walton said of Seider. “He knew me before when he was recruiting me at Penn State and carried that over to Notre Dame. I built an even stronger relationship with him, and he knew it was somewhere I wanted to be. He’s personable, interactive, fun and easy to talk to.”

On May 3, Notre Dame landed a running back commitment from Forney (Texas) High’s Javian Osborne, which may have sped up Walton’s process.

“During my last visit (April 8), I knew it was the place I wanted to be, but we were still planning on taking the official visits to see if it was something I was sure about,” said Walton. “After seeing Javian commit, I felt like it was time. That’s when I jumped in.”

Walton ranks as the nation’s No. 123 overall player and No. 10 running back according to the 2026 On3 Industry Ranking. He had all the big-time offers in the South — Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Texas — you name it. He even had scholarships from the likes of Michigan, Ohio State, USC and many others.

At first, the thought of leaving the South was difficult, but after visiting Notre Dame, it became a lot easier.

“It doesn’t matter how far away it is,” Walton stated. “It’s where I want to be.”

“I was really interested in some of these Southern schools like ‘Bama, Florida and Tennessee, but at the same time, when you know, you know. And even though it’s sort of far, it’s somewhere I want to be.”

Walton will sign with Notre Dame in December and enroll early in January 2026. He’ll officially visit Notre Dame the weekend of June 14.

“I could never see myself trying to decommit or even entertaining any other coaches,” Walton said. “I know this is the place I want to be. It would have to be something crazy to make me decommit. I won’t be taking any other visits.”

The Jonaz Walton profile

Walton had a tremendous junior season, rushing for 1,387 yards with 14 touchdowns on just 188 carries, while adding 39 receptions for 646 yards and 4 scores. He rushed for well over 1,000 yards as a freshman and sophomore as well.

Through his first three seasons of high school ball, he’s logged 567 carries for 4,714 yards with 56 rushing scores, plus 66 receptions for 953 yards and 7 receiving touchdowns. His three kickoff return touchdowns bring his career scoring total to 66.

Walton earned first-team offensive honors on the MaxPreps Sophomore All-America Team in 2023 and the Freshman All-America Team in 2022.

The Georgia Athletic Coaches Association listed him as a first-team all-state performer in 2024.

He was a state runner-up in the Georgia 4A championship last weekend, running a 10.66-second 100-meter dash.

“Jonaz exemplifies everything it means to be a ‘student-athlete,’” Central head coach Umbrah Brown said, via Scout Smart. “You wouldn’t know that he has 30-plus offers if you saw him walking the hallways. It’s a true testament to his character.”

Walton’s younger brother, Jacez, is a top running back prospect in the 2028 class. He’s already armed with offers from Miami, Georgia Tech, Florida and others.