Notre Dame Football Takes a Home-Run Swing for Top 2027 Recruit

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Notre Dame football has done things differently recruiting under Marcus Freeman.

Gone are the excuses of having to shop in different aisles, and in is a lot of work to put the most talent on the field as possible, to give the Fighting Irish the best chance of ending its national championship drought that dates back to 1988.

However, there is one position that Notre Dame is still playing a bit from behind at.

Defensive line.

But if head coach Marcus Freeman gets perhaps his biggest wish of the 2027 recruiting class, Notre Dame could be adding one of the very top talents in the entire country to its next incoming class.

Notre Dame Fans: Meet Marcus Fakatou of California

Marcus Fakatou of Fontana (Orange Lutheran), California is one of the top players in the 2027 recruiting class, regardless of position. However, he happens to play a spot where Notre Dame still has work do compared to some of the other elites in college football.

Fakatou checks in at 6-7, 295 pounds, and is rated as the nation's second-best defensive lineman in the class according to Rivals.

Fakatou is so impressive that Notre Dame actually offered him a scholarship following his freshman year of high school football. He has since reclassified from the 2028 recruiting cycle to 2027, and Notre Dame appears to be the team to beat for his talents.

The On3/Rivals predictor gives Notre Dame just over a 95% chance of landing Fakatou's commitment eventually, and he recently listed the Irish in his top 10 schools.

Notre Dame on the Defensive Line

It is largely assumed that Fakatou will play inside on the defensive line when he gets to college, and that's a major reason Notre Dame is making him such a priority.

When you look at where Notre Dame has lacked compared to other perennial powerhouse programs, the interior defensive line is a good place to start.

It's not that Notre Dame has been bad by any means at the position, but consider the fact it hasn't had a traditional interior defensive lineman taken in the first two rounds of the NFL draft since Jerry Tillery in 2019, and you can see how its lacking.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

The pursuit of Fakatou speaks to what Notre Dame continues to be in the transfer portal era. As nice as some as the additions were this winter, the program continues to follow Marcus Freeman's lead and be a high school recruiting-first program.

Potentially landing a huge fish like Fakatou would go a long way in closing the gap in one of the few places Notre Dame still has catching up to do in terms of playing at a national championship level.