Notre Dame football’s streak of signing a four-star running back in consecutive recruiting classes extended to six on Thursday when Rivals added a fourth star to the rating for Notre Dame signee Nolan James Jr.
James, who signed with Notre Dame in December, was a late add to Notre Dame’s 2025 class. The Irish flipped his commitment from Boston College in November.
James turned 243 carries into 1,921 yards and 19 touchdowns in 12 games as a senior at Wayne (N.J.) DePaul Catholic. He also caught 27 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns during a season that ended in a state championship for DePaul Catholic.
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The production gained the attention of the Rivals recruiting analyst team. James was a three-star recruit ranked as the No. 49 running back in the 2025 class when Rivals previously updated its ratings and rankings in November. Now James is a four-star recruit ranked as the No. 28 running back in the final update for the 2025 class.
Notre Dame targeted James, who Notre Dame listed at 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, while choosing to part ways with former running back commits Daniel Anderson and Justin Thurman. Anderson, a three-star recruit from Bryant (Ark.) High, signed with Northwestern. Thurman, a three-star recruit ranked as the No. 10 all-purpose back, signed with Kansas.
The last time a Notre Dame recruiting class didn’t include a Rivals four-star running back was 2019. The Irish signed three-star athlete Kyren Williams as their lone running back in the class. That worked out pretty well for Notre Dame as Williams rushed for 2,153 yards in his three-year career, and he just finished his third NFL season with the Los Angeles Rams after being selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
James became the ninth running back to sign with Notre Dame out of high school since Williams. Logan Diggs, who signed in 2019, was the only three-star recruit among that bunch. The four-star running backs to sign with Notre Dame since Williams are Chris Tyree (2020), Audric Estimé (2021), Jadarian Price (2022), Gi’Bran Payne (2022), Jeremiyah Love (2023), Aneyas Williams (2024), Kedren Young (2024) and James.
Tyree, Estimé and Price were recruited to Notre Dame by former running backs coach Lance Taylor, who is currently head coach at Western Michigan. Payne, Love, Aneyas Williams, Young and James were recruited to Notre Dame by current running backs coach Deland McCullough.
Visit The Insider Lounge for more details on position rankings changes for Notre Dame’s 2025 signees.
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