Notre Dame visitors preview: Focus toward skill positions with top targets

Notre Dame football has a couple of spring practices under its belt and when the Irish take the field for another practice on Saturday, head coach Marcus Freeman will have future faces of Notre Dame's program — whether we know it by their commitment status or not — on the sideline for recruiting visits.

As the Irish look to add to their top-ranked 2025 recruiting class, assistant athletic director of player personnel Chad Bowden and director of recruiting Dre Brown have strategically invited several top targets to campus, including two Rivals250 cornerbacks and a wide receiver from a national powerhouse program. Commits like wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr. and defensive end Christopher Burgess Jr. will also return for visits after last being in town for junior day on Jan. 20.

Earlier this week, Notre Dame sent out a flurry of offers in the 2026 class at every position as part of Pot of Gold Day and didn't have to wait long before receiving its first pledge of the class with from wide receiver Dylan Faison on Monday. The Irish will look to build off that momentum with a group of 2026 targets out of Florida, Illinois, Texas and Ohio expected on campus who either scored offers on Pot of Gold Day or previously in their recruitments.

Inside ND Sports breaks down which targets, commits and prospects are expected at Notre Dame on Saturday with additional notes on each target and prospect.

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The Irish plan to host 12 targets — three from the 2025 class and nine from the 2026 class. Seven of those nine 2026 targets were given their offers on Pot of Gold Day.

Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei cornerback Chuck McDonald III is expected to be on Notre Dame's campus for the first time since landing an offer last March during Pot of Gold Day. McDonald, who is the No. 8 cornerback and No. 59 overall player in the 2025 class, included Notre Dame in his top 10 last December.

Programs like LSU, USC, Georgia, Alabama and Oregon may have the edge on McDonald to this point but his willingness to travel for a Midwestern unofficial visit could elevate him on cornerbacks coach/defensive pass game coordinator Mike Mickens' priority list if the two sides mesh and see a fit down the road.

Derek Meadows is another West Coast target set to visit for spring practice. The Las Vegas Bishop Gorman wide receiver has blossomed into a Rivals100 member in the last year after being unranked at the time of his offer last June. Notre Dame has continued prioritizing the 6-foot-6, 195-pound wide receiver despite adding three commits at the position and moving off of Chansi Stuckey in favor of Mike Brown as wide receivers coach.

Of Meadows' 21 total offers, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan and Tennessee figure to be ND's biggest challengers.

Thirty schools extended offers to Mark Zackery at some point during his recruitment, but only four are still standing as favorites: Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Florida and Michigan.

This will mark Zackery's fifth trip to campus since last June. Freeman, Mickens and other staff members have pushed all the right buttons for Zackery, who cares about his development as a football player and off the field at whichever university he chooses.

The Indianapolis Ben Davis standout, who won the IHSSA 6A football state championship last November and will play for a second consecutive state basketball championship next Saturday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse, was FutureCasted to Notre Dame by Inside ND Sports' Tyler James on Feb. 7

For the second time this month, McHale Blade plans to make the drive from Country Club Hills, Ill., to South Bend for an unofficial visit. The four-star Hillcrest defender debuted as the No. 159 overall player in the updated Rivals250 and was awarded an Irish offer on Pot of Gold Day.

“Notre Dame has been one of the top schools for a while now and I just feel blessed to receive such an offer," Blade told Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith earlier this week. "And I know they also value academics and that's really what I'm looking for in my future. My academics that's really kind of important to me."

Blade reports 10 total offers and plans to check out Indiana, Purdue, Miami (Fla.), Florida, Nebraska and Cincinnati on visits this spring.

Per Rivals, Zech Fort will be the highest-ranked recruit regardless of class or commitment status present on campus. Fort holds a 6.0 rating from Rivals and is the No. 21 overall player and No. 3 safety in the 2026 class.

Notre Dame has increased its efforts at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy in recent months with a pair of 2025 linebacker targets, Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Gavin Nix, both enrolled there. Freeman, Mickens, and Notre Dame's recruiting staff can make a strong first impression on Fort in their meetings, where they can point directly to success at his position with Xavier Watts.

Fort, who added his offer Sunday, has 28 total offers, including Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, Georgia, Florida State, Ohio State, Oregon, USC and UCLA.

Akron (Ohio) Hoban cornerback Elbert Hill impressed Notre Dame enough to garner a scholarship offer last June after camp, and he'll return to continue those initial relationships with Notre Dame's staff as he grows closer to becoming an upperclassman.

Hill, the No. 64 overall player and No. 8 cornerback in the 2025 class, has 17 total offers, including Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, USC and Tennessee. Hill watched the Buckeyes for spring practice earlier this week and has visited Ohio State six times in his recruitment.

After landing an offer on Pot of Gold Day, Gabriel Hill is feeling good heading into his first Notre Dame visit. Hill is currently a three-star recruit, but defensive line coach Al Washington saw enough aggression and playmaking on his sophomore film to extend an offer. Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney believes the Irish may have the upper hand in Hill's recruitment.

Hill, who attends Naperville (Ill.) High, has other offers from Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State and Kent State. Although he hasn't met ND's coaching staff in person, Hill has completed his own research on their playing history and how they've fared as defensive coaches.

Tiki Hola plans to make another visit to Notre Dame, this time as an official target, following his offer on Pot of Gold Day. Hola was invited by ND's recruiting staff for its final home game against Wake Forest last November.

Hola attends Bastrop (Texas) High and is the No. 99 overall player in the Rivals250. He's up to 16 offers, including Auburn, Baylor, Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas and Texas Tech. In January, the Longhorns hosted the four-star defender on an unofficial visit.

Noah Grubbs plans to return to campus for the first time since visiting for the Ohio State game. Per Rivals, the Lake Mary (Fla.) High signal caller is the No. 44 overall player and No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the 2026 class.

Michigan and Ohio State also expect to host Grubbs on unofficial visits this weekend. Florida, Miami (Fla.), Penn State and UCF are other schools to watch in Grubbs' recruitment. Freeman made a move in Grubbs' recruitment early by making time for a conversation with Grubbs and his trainer, Baylen Trujillo, inside Notre Dame Stadium before kickoff against the Buckeyes.

Ksani Jiles is another member of IMG Academy's secondary planning to make his way to Notre Dame. It will be his first visit to the Irish in his recruitment. Per Rivals, the 5-11, 172-pound Jiles is the No. 4 cornerback and No. 39 overall player in the 2026 class.

Jiles, who decommited from Miami (Fla.) in February, received his Notre Dame offer on Pot of Gold Day. He reports 21 total offers, including Colorado, Penn State, LSU, USC and Missouri. Jiles and Fort are both visiting Ohio State on Friday.

Notre Dame added a few vyper end targets to its board on Pot of Gold Day and one recipient of an offer was Jarius Rodgers. The Fleming Island (Fla.) High defender is ranked as the No. 14 weakside defensive end in the 2026 class.

At 6-5, 195-pounds, Rodgers slots in as a three-star recruit with 10 total offers, including Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Nebraska,

Trotwood (Ohio) Madison defensive lineman Jamarcus Whyce is scheduled to visit ND after earning an Irish offer on Pot of Gold Day. Akron, Ball State, Massachusetts, Toledo and West Virginia make up Whyce's full offer sheet.

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These signees or commits in the 2024 and 2025 classes plan to be on campus.

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The recruits below do not report offers from the Irish and may be evaluated as new offers or potential walk-ons.

Israel Oladipupo, a two-star weakside defensive end out of Noblesville (Ind.) High, has been on ND's radar over the last year since camping in South Bend last summer. He reports 16 total offers, including Boston College, Duke and Indiana, and was most recently on an unofficial visit to the Hoosiers spring practice on Thursday. Oladipupo shares the same personal trainer, Eze Obiora, as ND freshman offensive tackle and early enrollee Styles Prescod.

Chase Enlow plans to get his first look at Notre Dame as a recruit. Enlow holds offers from Duke, Rutgers and Temple, and has visited Boston College and Syracuse on unofficial visits this month. Enlow attends Princeton (N.J.) Hun School, which produced Irish 2009 signee and defensive tackle Tyler Stockton.

The Irish expect to see Carter Scruggs on campus. The 6-6, 280-pound offensive tackle is ranked No. 118 in the Rivals250 for the 2026 class and has real interest in Notre Dame. Scruggs reports 13 offers, including Alabama, Duke, NC State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Scruggs' upcoming visit schedule includes NC State (March 29), Virginia Tech (April 5), North Carolina (April 6), Penn State (April 13), Maryland (April 20) and West Virginia (April 27).

Canadian-born Linkin Zylstra, who attends Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, plans to see Notre Dame for the first time. Zylstra holds offers from Temple and Connecticut and is receiving additional interest from Penn State, Rutgers and Massachusetts. Defensive coordinator Al Golden and freshman defensive tackle Sean Sevillano Jr. follow Zylstra on X/Twitter.

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