Notre Dame 2026 Recruiting Class Best Recruit, Highest Ceiling, Hidden Gem

The Fighting Irish are bringing in a class full of high-profile athletes to South Bend in this 2026 recruiting cycle. From defensive end, to running back, to safety, Notre Dame has one of the deepest and most talented recruiting classes we have seen in recent Irish history.

With National Signing Day coming up on Wednesday, December 3, it is time to have a little fun and meet some members of the 2026 cycle with some class superlatives.

Sometimes, depending on how good or bad a class ends up, these superlatives can be easy, but there were very difficult decisions to be made here for the 26s.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class MVP: EDGE Rodney Dunham

A five-star edge rusher is always going to be difficult to beat for class MVP. Rodney Dunham is everything you want in a modern pass-rusher from size, to speed, to strength, he has it all.

Dunham committed to Notre Dame early in the cycle (April 10, 2025) and stuck with his pledge all the way through, on top of being a recruiter himself out on the trail. Dunham was the first of Notre Dame's four five-star commits in the 2026 cycle and truly got the ball rolling for this class.

The 6-4, 227-pounder will be an early contributor for Notre Dame, maybe even next season.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Best Athlete: Safety, Joey O'Brien

Go open a dictionary for me and look up the word freakish. Did a picture of Joey O'Brien pop up?

O'Brien is an absolute freak of nature who will be too much fun to watch during his time in South Bend.

Standing at 6'3, 185 lbs, O'Brien is the type of rangy centerfield safety that schools across the country are vying for desperately.

Usually, I avoid the Kyle Hamilton comparison, but O'Brien is absolutely that. Along with the natural size and speed comparison, O'Brien is a true playmaker in every sense of the word, just like Hamilton.

Maybe you will even see him on offense for the Fighting Irish...

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Most Underrated: Wide Receiver, Bubba Frazier

It's not often that Notre Dame can pull a receiver out of the heart of SEC country that everyone in the country wants, but the Irish staff did just that by landing Bubba Frazier. Ranked as a low four-star, Frazier has the game-breaking speed that you normally are accustomed to seeing with the most high-powered offenses in college football.

Frazier has the straight line speed and the shiftiness to make you miss that Notre Dame has been desperately needing. It will be interesting to see how Frazier is used in the Irish offense, he could end up being Jordan Faison-esque with more top-end speed.

Notre Dame Recruiting Class Instant Impact: Running Back, Javian Osborne

With Notre Dame set to lose two of its best running backs in recent program history to the NFL draft this spring, the running back room will be wide open, and that is where Javian Osborne comes in.

The four-star tailback is regarded as one of the best backs in the nation and will have an opportunity to play immediately in the Irish offense.

Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are NFL-bound, Gi'Bran Payne is likely a transfer candidate, and that just leaves Aneyas Williams, who has expressed his unhappiness at Notre Dame this season, Kedren Young, who tore his ACL earlier this year, and redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr.

Osborne is an uber-talented back that running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider will be eager to get his hands on. Expect Osborne to work into RB2/3 territory immediately.