With the early signing period in college football a little more than two weeks away, Notre Dame added a five-star commitment Monday.
It didn't come from a new addition to Notre Dame's 2025 class. It came from the updated prospect rankings from Rivals.
Offensive tackle Will Black, who has been committed to Notre Dame since December, received a five-star rating from Rivals as the 19th-ranked overall prospect in the 2025 class. That puts Notre Dame in position to sign a five-star recruit in consecutive classes after linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa signed with the Irish in the 2024 class.
Black is in line to become the first five-star offensive lineman to sign with the Irish since Blake Fisher in the 2021 class. Notre Dame didn't sign a Rivals five-star recruit between Fisher and Viliamu-Asa.
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When Black first committed to Notre Dame, he was only a three-star recruit on Rivals. He was bumped up to a four-star rating in February. He moved into the Rivals100 in May. Black's latest move is up 31 spots from No. 50 overall in the 2025 class.
“Black is a shining example of how a physically gifted prospect who doesn’t play great competition can steadily move up the rankings," Rivals rankings director Adam Friedman wrote Monday. "At 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds, Black has gotten stronger and increased his agility to a point where he can just overwhelm defensive linemen and does so on a consistent basis."
Notre Dame has signed 20 five-star recruits since Rivals started rating prospects in 2002. Three of them have been offensive linemen: Sam Young (2006), Quenton Nelson (2014) and Fisher.
Rivals will continue to unveil its 2025 rankings updates throughout the week with the Rivals250 coming Tuesday. Notre Dame's 23-man class is ranked No. 10 in the country Monday following Black's five-star upgrade.
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