Four-star WR Derek Meadows picks LSU over Notre Dame
It was a close battle between Notre Dame and LSU, but the Tigers beat out the Fighting Irish for Las Vegas Bishop Gorman’s Derek Meadows.
The four-star prospect originally planned to commit to one of his finalists last Saturday, but a big push from Notre Dame was a big reason as to why he wanted to wait an extra week to make his decision. But on July 20, Meadows announced his pledge to the Tigers. Alabama, Georgia and Michigan were the other schools in contention.
It’s a major loss from a Notre Dame perspective. Of his five finalists, the Irish had been by far recruiting Meadows the longest and badly needed him in their 2025 class. He visited South Bend four times — most of any school — including two trips in 2023 and two this year. Meadows, who ranks as the No. 41 overall recruit and No. 7 wide receiver in America according to the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking, checked out LSU twice.
“Their receivers coach played in the pros,” Meadows’ father, DeShawn, recently told On3 regarding LSU. “He has a pretty good idea how to build a wide receiver as you see from history. I like their attitude. The way they run practice, it’s very quick, very firm, making sure everyone is running from point to point. Definitely the environment. They’re a family over there. It’s a great family environment.”
Notre Dame has two wide receiver commits currently in the 2025 cycle. Earlier this year, the Irish landed pledges from Atlanta Woodward Academy’s Jerome Bettis Jr. and Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic’s Elijah Burress, the sons of former NFL stars Jerome Bettis Sr. and Plaxico Burress, respectively. Notre Dame had a pledge from Ironton (Ohio) High’s Shaun Terry as well, but he decommitted June 1 and switched his commitment to Missouri a few weeks later.
The Irish had other receiver targets on the 2025 board who they hosted for official visits in June, but those prospects picked other programs. Notre Dame will evaluate new prospects and decide where to go from here. We expect the Irish to continue after Meadows moving forward, despite his LSU commitment.
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Meadows helped Bishop Gorman to a 12-0 record in 2023, capped off with a blowout victory in the Nevada Class 5A Division I Championship. His team only had one game all season that had a final score within 10 points.
He caught 15 passes for 391 yards with 8 touchdowns during his junior campaign. Meadows was named to the All-Southern Nevada first-team with his 26.1 yards per catch.
Meadows was the 2023 Gatorade Nevada boys track and field athlete of the year, as he won the Class 5A state title in the 300-meter hurdles (36.73) and ran a leg in the Bishop Gorman’s winning 4×400 relay team.
“Meadows is one of the biggest blue-chip wideouts in the cycle and also one of the most athletic,” On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power recently said. “Though we didn’t see much from him on the track as a junior, Meadows laid down some sensational times as a sophomore, particularly for a prospect of his size.”
