Notre Dame visitors preview: 2025 OT commit Owen Strebig tops expected list

On Thursday, Notre Dame football will conduct its first spring practice.

While the Irish take the practice field for their first official practice since prepping for last December's Sun Bowl, director of recruiting Chad Bowden and Notre Dame's recruiting staff will also welcome its first wave of recruits since the quiet period began Monday.

Notre Dame has 17 total commitments in its 2025 recruiting class, and the months of March, April and May can help the Irish get uncommitted talent to campus and make headway on different recruitments heading into the summer.

This period also allows 2024 signees who won't enroll until June a chance to visit and watch their future teammates go through live practice under head coach Marcus Freeman and position coaches' instruction. For 2026 and 2027 recruits, it's an opportunity to develop an early relationship with the staff and learn about the Irish program before they become upperclassmen in August.

Inside ND Sports gives a rundown on which recruits are expected on campus to watch the Irish in their first spring practice.

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The Irish plan to host two commits — one each from their 2024 and 2025 classes.

The 6-8, 295-pound Owen Strebig, who committed to the Irish last month, plans to attend spring practice a week after moving up 22 spots to No. 44 overall in the 2025 Rivals250. After visiting campus in January for junior day, Strebig already had his mind set on returning for spring practice.

Strebig, a four-star out of Waukesha (Wisc.) Catholic Memorial, is one of three offensive tackles — with four-star Will Black and three-star Matty Augustine — verbally committed to offensive line coach Joe Rudolph this cycle.

If Strebig holds onto his spot within the top 100 through December, he would become the fifth Rivals100 offensive lineman to sign with Notre Dame since 2021: No. 26 Blake Fisher (2021), No. 68 Rocco Spindler (2021), No. 87 Billy Schrauth (2022) and No. 37 Guerby Lambert (2024).

The other commit who plans to take in ND's first practice is Robbie Wollan, a preferred walk-on who played multiple positions along the offensive line in high school.

Per his X/Twitter account, Wollan reported six FCS Division I offers including Butler, Davidson, Marist, Presbyterian and Valparaiso. He also received a preferred walk-on offer to Western Michigan.

Wollan's unofficial measurements list him at 6-4, 270-pounds. He anchored Mendota Heights (Minn.) St. Thomas Academy's offensive line and helped the Cadets finish as Class 5A runner-ups in Minnesota.

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After spending four seasons at Colgate, Max Hurleman entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining. The Irish have expressed interest in bringing him on board as a prefererred walk-on, so he's checking out Notre Dame on Thursday.

The Wyomissing (Pa.) native finished his Colgate career with 814 rushing yards, 841 receiving yards and four total touchdowns. He also handled return duties for the Raiders and was named All-Patriot League first-team special teams in 2023.

Notre Dame also plans to host four total prospects ranging from the 2025 and 2026 classes. These recruits do not report offers but could be evaluated for new offers or potential walk-on invites.

Notre Dame hosted Grant Beerman for camp last June and welcomed him back to campus for its home opener against Tennessee State last month. Beerman spoke about his interest in the Irish last August when he had 11 offers to his name.

The 6-4, 215-pound Beerman received his fourth star from Rivals last week and is up to the No. 31-ranked outside linebacker in his class. Beerman's father, Ron Beerman, communicated with Inside ND Sports earlier this week and said Beerman has added weight since head coach Marcus Freeman stopped by West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West during the contact period and is looking forward to soaking in more knowledge from linebackers coach Max Bullough.

Beerman is up to 27 total offers including Cincinnati, Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Purdue and West Virginia. He has set official visits to Cincinnati (May 31), Purdue (June 7) and Michigan State (June 14).

McHale Blade, a 6-5, 230-pound defender out of Country Club Hills (Ill.) Hillcrest, plans to visit campus for the first time as a recruit. Per MaxPreps, Blade has 22 total tackles including five for loss, six quarterback hurries and 1.5 sacks last fall.

Blade, who is listed as a weakside defensive end by Rivals, is seen as more of a defensive tackle at this point in his recruitment by defensive line coach Al Washington. The Irish have three commitments in its top-ranked 2025 class from Illinois, and each happens to play high school football in Illinois: DE Christopher Burgess Jr., DE Joseph Reiff and VYP Dominik Hulak.

Entering the spring of his sophomore season, Blade is currently unranked and unrated but holds eight offers from Boston College, Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Miami (Fla.), Nebraska and Toledo. The Hurricanes were the first to offer Blade, who also runs track for Hillcrest.

The youngest of two Lakota West student-athletes expected on Notre Dame's campus is Cam Thomas, a 6-2, 200-pound athlete, a designation given for a multi-positional prospect.

Rivals has not assigned a rating or ranking to Thomas yet, who visited for the USC game last season and said the Irish were one of the programs he had been in contact with the most up to that point.

Thomas, who lined up primarily at outside linebacker or defensive end for Lakota West, reports 12 offers including Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

Notre Dame always keeps a close eye on talent in the Philadelphia area and Joey O'Brien, a prospect out of La Salle College High School, is one of the early names to know at cornerback in his class.

Mickens, defensive coordinator Al Golden, recruiting analyst Dre Brown and recruiting associate Carter Auman each have followed O'Brien on X/Twitter ahead of his visit. The 6-3, 180-pound O'Brien also played wide receiver as a sophomore. He has not received a rating or ranking from Rivals.

O'Brien holds offers from Duke and Toledo and has received additional interest thus far from Florida State, Rutgers, Penn State and Maryland. He took game-day visits to Florida State and Rutgers last November.

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