How Notre Dame Keeps Getting More Commitments from Prospects
After a season that ended losing the National Championship, Coach Marcus Freeman is leading Notre Dame to a top 5 recruiting class. According to ESPN, at the time of this article, Notre Dame has the 5th best recruiting class for 2026, obtaining 17 commitments from 4-star players, all of whom are in the ESPN 300. This is an exciting thing for Notre Dame fans, especially considering they landed the 3rd best ranked Tight End (Ian Premer), continuing the legacy of Notre Dame being Tight End-U. Khary Adams is the top defensive signing, as the 2nd best ranked cornerback in the class.
I was able to connect with Notre Dame wide receiver commit, Bubba Frazier, to talk about his commitment to Notre Dame. Frazier is a 4-star recruit out of Savannah, Georgia and is in the ESPN 300, also the second highest ranked receiver in the 2026 Notre Dame recruitment class. I asked Bubba what drew him to Notre Dame over his other options, and he told me,
“My relationship with the coaches (at Notre Dame) is unmatched compared to the other schools. I feel like Notre Dame is going to prepare me the best on and off the field. The academics is the best.”
Notre Dame is a highly acclaimed school because of its academics, that can’t be argued, and often times it’s a reason players don’t want to go to Notre Dame. Yet, for others, it can be a main reason for choosing to play for the Irish. Notre Dame Football had a 990 APR Score, a metric where scholarship student-athletes earn one point each term for remaining eligible and one point for staying in school or graduating. The only two schools with higher APRs in 2025? Fellow top ranked programs, Clemson and Ohio State.
Ohio State is a place that recently the Irish have had knowledge of. Not only did Ohio State beat them in the NCAA Championship last season, but Coach Marcus Freeman also attended Ohio State. When I asked Frazier about his relationship with Coach Freeman, I was a little surprised by his answer. He told me that all of the recruits had built a relationship not just with their position coach, but with Coach Freeman himself. I asked if his commitment had anything to do with his relationship with Coach Freeman and he replied,
“Yes! Coach Freeman is a great coach and person. It’s kind of hard to say you don’t want to play for him. He cares about you off the field not just on the field.”
Like I said previously, each recruit has a relationship with their position coach as well, and Coach Mike Brown is the position coach for wide receivers.
When talking to Frazier about his relationship with Coach Mike Brown, he told me they were close. Coach Brown spent a few seasons in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars before heading to the college realm to coach. Since then, Coach Brown has flown through the ranks and was selected to the AFCA 35 Under 35 Coaches Leadership Institute. Devyn Ford, former Notre Dame running back and return man,
“(Coach Freeman) let’s the people in the program take over and they follow by his leadership.”
I think part of the reason Coach Freeman brought Coach Brown into the program was because of his leadership ability and the fact that the team could trust Brown to get the best out of his players.
I said in my previous article about Coach Freeman (A Program Built on Trust: The Marcus Freeman Project), “Trust your players, trust your coaches, trust those around you to get the job done.” I was pleasantly surprised to hear Bubba Frazier tell me,
“Coach Brown knows what he’s doing with his receiver, and I can trust him.”
This trust begins before players even get on campus; it starts during their recruitment. It affects every aspect of the team, not just in one position group, it’s a team wide agenda.
The other team wide agenda? Win a National Championship. I asked what Frazier hoped to accomplish at Notre Dame and his answer was simple…
“Help Notre Dame win a Natty.”
Win the Natty☘️