Why Notre Dame’s Pot of Gold day matters for future recruiting success
By the end of the day, Notre Dame’s tally of total offers in the 2027 class for Pot of Gold day could get close to — or maybe even exceed — 70 or 80. And a couple weeks go, the Irish had only offered three players in the 2027 class.
What’s the point of offering so many prospects if you can only take ~25 in a given cycle?
That might be a skeptic’s question about the hoopla that surrounds Pot of Gold day. But with Notre Dame’s built-in holiday of St. Patrick’s Day, why not take advantage of it? And building a great deal of excitement by doing something as unique as offering this many prospects on a single day is a good move, in this writer’s opinion.
And the best part of Pot of Gold is that it’s more than just building hype — Notre Dame has had real success landing prospects who they offer on this day.
Of the Irish’s current seven commitments, five of them were Pot of Gold offers. Lake Mary (Fla.) quarterback Noah Grubbs was offered during the summer of 2023, but the staff included him on its internal Pot of Gold list and spoke with him that day.
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Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley lineman Tyler Merrill, Davison (Mich.) High lineman Ben Nichols, Matthews (N.C.) Weddington’s Thomas Davis Jr., Boca Raton (Fla.) Saint Andrew’s School wideout Dylan Faison and Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School cornerback Chaston Smith were all offered by the Irish on this day last year and are now committed to Notre Dame.
Allegan (Mich.) High lineman Sullivan Garvin is the only current Irish commit who didn’t have a Pot of Gold offer last year. He earned his offer in the fall and committed a couple months later.
Many current, top Notre Dame targets were offered on this day, including but not limited to Carrollton (Ga.) Central running back Jonaz Walton, Red Oak (Texas) High wide receiver Brayden Robinson, Aledo (Texas) High wideout Kaydon Finley, Portage (Mich.) Northern lineman Gregory Patrick, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive lineman Elijah Golden, Bastrop (Texas) High defensive lineman Tiki Hola, Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park defensive end Rodney Dunham, Jacksonville (Fla.) The Bolles School linebacker Simeon Caldwell and Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College defensive back Joey O’Brien.
In looking back at the 2025 class, wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., tight end James Flanigan, defensive end Christopher Burgess Jr., cornerback Cree Thomas, defensive end Dominik Hulak, linebacker Ko’o Kia, defensive lineman Davion Dixon, linebacker Anthony Sacca, linebacker Madden Faraimo and cornerback Dallas Golden were all Pot of Gold recruits who signed with the Fighting Irish.
