Notre Dame football feels like home for Sullivan Garvin.
That’s not just because Garvin lives less than 90 minutes away in Allegan, Mich. It’s how folks around the program and university treated him on the four recruiting visits he made to campus.
Garvin, a 6-foot-5, 301-pound junior offensive lineman, felt comfortable enough to give Notre Dame his verbal commitment this month. He announced his decision Thursday.
“It felt like home,” Garvin told Inside ND Sports. “I have the best relationship with all their staff. They’ve recruited me the hardest, and they’ve believed in me the most. On top of that, I’ll be getting a world-class education only an hour-and-20 [minutes] from home. Everything checks all the boxes and more.”
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Garvin, who Rivals rates as a three-star recruit, made his first trip to campus for a spring practice in April. He returned in June for the Irish Invasion camp to work with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph.
“When I was at camp with Coach Rudolph, I liked how there were times when he was coaching me where you can tell he’s tough on you,” Garvin said. “I really liked that. But at the same time, he has amazing relationships with his guys. He’s a clearly caring person.
“It just plays into everything I want. I want to be pushed, and I want to be developed with the best. But I also want to have a good relationship with my coach after football and outside of football.”
Garvin watched Notre Dame’s offensive line transform from a question mark heading into the 2024 season to a reliable part of Notre Dame’s offense, which led to the Irish being named one of 10 semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the best offensive line in college football. Garvin attended Notre Dame’s 31-24 win over Louisville in September and 35-14 victory over Virginia in November.
“It’s been very impressive,” Garvin said. “I saw they were up for the Joe Moore Award. They have a freshman left tackle and guys they didn’t originally plan to start, but they’ve come together and looked amazing. That just represents Coach Rudolph’s leadership and how good of a coach he is.”
While on campus for the Louisville game, Garvin received his scholarship offer from the Irish. From that point on, the possibility of committing to the Irish became real. A few months later, Garvin had seen enough.
“I see it as a ‘why wait?’ thing,” Garvin said. “Get the ‘26s rolling early.”
Garvin became verbal commitment No. 5 for Notre Dame’s 2026 class. He joined four-star quarterback Noah Grubbs, three-star wide receiver Dylan Faison, four-star linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. and four-star cornerback Chaston Smith. Rivals ranks the class eighth-best in the country.
“It’s gonna be a great class,” Garvin said. “It’s building and only gonna get better.”
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Garvin’s physical development will eventually dictate where he ends up on Notre Dame’s offensive line. He could eventually become a tackle or guard, but the latter may be more likely. Rivals has projected him as a tackle, but it has not yet included him among the top 60 at the position.
“Garvin is really fun to watch on tape,” said Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith. “He plays with good leverage and fires off the ball quite well for a kid his age. Those strong fundamentals and good footwork make him a great addition to the future Notre Dame offensive line room.
“The competition he’s playing isn’t great, and he’s much bigger than the kids he faces weekly. He dominates them with ease which is what he’s supposed to do. The building blocks are there for him to be a multi-year starter if he keeps progressing.”
A little more than eight months after receiving his first Division I scholarship offer, Garvin can reflect on the whirlwind his recruitment has been. What started with interest from MAC programs grew into attention from programs like Notre Dame, Washington, Indiana, Kansas, Purdue and Cincinnati.
“It’s definitely been great,” Garvin said. “Every program was great. They were very nice to me and welcomed me in. Lots of teams recruited me hard.
“It’s been pretty crazy, because I’ve always dreamed of something like this. To actually live it for my junior year, it was the craziest year. For basically the whole year it’s been pretty exciting.
“It’s been a dream come true, because I’ve wanted to go play college football, and now it’s happening at my favorite school.”
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