Notre Dame has a new running back committed in its 2025 recruiting class, as three-star prospect Nolan James Jr. announced his flip from Boston College to the Fighting Irish on Monday night.
James was in South Bend for an official visit this past weekend to watch Notre Dame take on Florida State on Saturday night. The Fighting Irish dominated the Seminoles by a final score of 52-3.
Following the visit, James knew he wanted to be a part of the Notre Dame program.
"I decided to commit because Notre Dame provides one of the best educations in the world, along with the opportunity to play for a national championship," James told Rivals.com. "That’s not the only reason (why I committed). What I really loved was the fact that everyone in the building provided the same mindset and message and that was to be great at everything on and off the field and to embrace the challenges that come with that."
The DePaul Catholic High School (Wayne, N.J.) tailback had been a longtime commit for Boston College, originally pledging to the Eagles in December of 2023 under then head coach Jeff Hafley and running backs coach Savon Huggins. James remained committed to BC after Hafley left Chestnut Hill to return to the NFL and become the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers, and Boston College hired Bill O'Brien as its head coach. O'Brien retained Huggins as running backs coach.
However, Notre Dame began showing interest in James after the program parted ways with former three-star running back commit Daniel Anderson. Additionally, James is high school teammates at DePaul Catholic with three-star wide receiver Elijah Burress, who has been committed to the Fighting Irish since February.
James and Burress have a tight-knit relationship that they look forward to continuing to strengthen at the college level.
"That’s one of my best friends," James said about Burress. "We’ve been playing together since eighth grade on the same youth team, so to go to college with him is super cool."
Inside ND Sports recently reported that Notre Dame's interest in James began to rise when wide receivers coach Mike Brown visited DePaul Catholic during Notre Dame’s first bye week to connect with Burress.
That interest was mutual, and it of course led to the official visit and ultimately James' flip to the Irish.
On the official visit, James was able to get to know the coaches and support staff on a personal level, and take in the game-day environment at Notre Dame Stadium. It checked all of his boxes.
"I got to meet with everyone involved with the program and had one-on-one meetings that were all great from academics to nutrition," James explained about the official visit. "I loved everyone’s dedication to the school and the players in the program. The game was also electric — the atmosphere there was unmatched."
He will now play under head coach Marcus Freeman, offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Mike Denbrock, associate head coach/running backs coach Deland McCullough, Brown and the rest of the staff at Notre Dame.
James believes the coaches are authentic and will help him develop on and off the field.
"I have really good relationships with Coach Freeman, Coach McCullough and Coach Denbrock," James said. "I think they are all super genuine and real. They are who they say they are, and I really appreciate that, along with the rest of the staff. They love that I am an every-down back with a lot of versatility that can do it all."
In addition to Notre Dame and Boston College, James received scholarship offers from Akron, Buffalo, Charlotte, Connecticut, Duke, Kent State, Liberty, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Princeton, Syracuse and Virginia.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound James ranks as the No. 19 prospect in the state of New Jersey and the No. 49 running back in the 2025 cycle.
As a senior during the 2024 campaign, James has rushed for 1,420 yards and 14 touchdowns thus far. He has also recorded 265 receiving yards and two additional scores on the ground.
James joins four-star running back Justin Thurman in Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class. The Fighting Irish now have 24 commits in the cycle and rank in the top-12 in the national team rankings.
As for Boston College, the Eagles' 2025 class decreases by one to 24 total commitments and ranks 42nd nationally.
