National Signing Day is just a few weeks away for Notre Dame and the rest of the country. Due to new NCAA legislation the early period has been moved up and this year it will start on December 3 and run through December 4. So, that whole thing about, “it’s a long way until signing day,” that every pessimist likes to shout is about to come to an end.
At present, Notre Dame has 27 commitments for the 2026 class. They are, however, working hard to try and get at least ONE more commitment from 4-Star
safety Matt Sieg who is currently committed to Penn State.
Whether they get Sieg or not, this Notre Dame recruiting class is the best class this century for the Irish. The class is ranked #4 by the 247 Composite and Rivals Industry rankings (after recent updates) and #3 by ESPN. At the top of this class are five 5-Star players:
Tight End — Ian Premer
Cornerback — Khary Adams
Safety — Joey O’Brien
Defensive End — Rodney Dunham
Offensive Line — Grayson McKeough
And while the fact that the Irish are finally going to sign a handful of 5-Stars should be enough to celebrate wildly, it really is that this class is drowning with talent and an 85% Blue-Chip ratio.
It’s actually quite remarkable.
One of the big themes of the Marcus Freeman hire was his ability to recruit. It was refreshing to have a head coach that, unlike Brian Kelly, truly wanted to put in all of the work needed to recruit 5-Star players. Unfortunately, the timing was awful. The new age of college football with the transfer portal and NIL started, and it nullified so much of what made Freeman special as a recruiter, and it started to move toward more of a “what’s in the bag” type of recruitment nationwide.
It took Notre Dame a few years to get fully aligned with all of this, but at this point, they are perfectly aligned to sign the best recruiting classes in the country (regardless of any preconceived notions of restrictions). This 2026 class is proof in the pudding. The combination of Notre Dame’son field success, Marcus Freeman, and a phenomenal recruiting operation (and everything it entails) has the stars lining up outside the Golden Dome — which should further strengthen the program for years to come.
While some signing days come and go, and they’re something we can be happy about but not thoroughly giddy about — this one is different. The change is here, and it’s happening in a big way.
