The apparent widespread bewilderment over a lack of an immediate February recruiting bump following a national title game appearance has given way to a latent flex by the Notre Dame football program that shows no signs of leveling off.
The latest addition to the 2026 ND class came Thursday afternoon, when the nation’s No. 9 tight end in the class, per Rivals, became the second commit from his position group this week and 22nd overall for the Irish overall.
And Ian Premer’s ceiling could end up being much higher than his current snapshot — No. 123 overall in the Rivals250 — by the time he makes the move from Great Bend (Kansas) to South Bend.
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“I gave him five stars, and he’s a great athlete,” longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of Prep Football Report assessed. “He averaged 22 points a game in basketball, batted over .400 in baseball. He’s got super long arms, great hands. He can run. He can catch.
“He’s the consummate tight end-type prospect who will get bigger. He’s 6-6 and 225, and will probably play at 250 in college. He does everything great. Of the tight ends they were going after, he would have been my No. 1 choice. It wound up that [offensive coordinator] Mike Denbrock did an excellent job with Ian. And they’re on the verge of having their best class since 2013 if they can add the three wide receivers and defensive tackle Elijah Golden.”
That would be four-star wideouts Kaydon Finley, Devin Fitzgerald and Brayden Robinson, who have scheduled announcement dates slotted July 4, 5, 6, respectively. Golden, a four star defensive tackle who took an official recruiting visit to ND this past weekend, told Inside ND Sports that he is in decision mode, though without a specific date in mind for his reveal.
Premer chose the Irish over finalists Kansas State and Iowa State, and had 29 reported offers, including those from USC, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, Miami and Michigan. He joins fellow tight end Preston Fryzel — a three-star prospect from Ohio — who committed to the Irish on Monday.
Notre Dame currently stands fourth in the fluid Rivals 2026 team recruiting rankings as a handful of teams that continue to jostle daily amongst each other, and collectively close the gap on No. 1 USC.
The Irish rep as Tight End U certainly plays well in this cycle and with Premer in particular. Notre Dame’s tight end position group has amassed at least 50 catches and 500 receiving yards in every season since 2018, with totals of 60 for 593 and six TDs this past season.
But ND’s four-game College Football Playoff run, culminating in a 34-23 loss to Ohio State in the championship game on Jan, 20, has emerged as a predominant theme with the players in the Irish class.
“Immensely, immensely,” Lemming said of the title game’s impact. “The coaches didn’t have much time to recruit in January. And then they put all their eggs into this later recruiting basket — April, May, June — and it’s really paid off for Notre Dame. Being in the national title game, getting all that publicity, beating Indiana, Georgia and Penn State is incredible.
“They got a ton of publicity that way. Every kid saw them on national TV. I think that was probably a catalyst for making this class so good.”
And new general manager Mike Martin’s influence is starting to become apparent, per Lamming. Martin was hired in late February after the Irish went roughly a month without a GM. He replaced Chad Bowden, who bolted for a similar role at USC less than a week after ND finished its season in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
Martin and ND head coach Marcus Freeman had other vacancies to fill in around Martin as well in the front office, with Carter Auman, Jourdan Blake and former Irish defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa among the key promotions and additions.
“Mike Martin’s got a great personality for the job,” Lemming said. “He’s outstanding at organizing. I just think he’s a win-win guy for Notre Dame. They’ve got some good young guys too like Carter Aumann.
“The Irish were question marks until about three weeks ago. They’re answering all the questions and then some. I think Notre Dame is going to be a force from here on in, not just this cycle, but in years to come. This is just the start of it.”
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