Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Football Lands Top Offensive Lineman, Beats Bluebloods for Commitment

Notre Dame adds a major piece to its future offensive line, securing a commitment from a talented 4-star recruit in the 2025 class.
Mason Plummer|
Jan 18, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman talks to the media during 2025 CFP National Championship Media Day at Georgia World Congress Center, Building A. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman talks to the media during 2025 CFP National Championship Media Day at Georgia World Congress Center, Building A. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame continues to land highly rated offensive linemen under offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and that has continued yet again Thursday as the Fighting Irish scored a commitment from 2026 OL Tyler Merrill out of Mechanicsburg, Penn.

The 6'5, 310-pounder was highly-coveted, but would up choosing Notre Dame over a top-5 consisting of Clemson, Alabama, Wisconsin and in-state Penn State, who likely finished in second place for Merrill's pledge.

Merrill makes the seventh commitment in Notre Dame's 2026 class, three of them being offensive linemen, joining Sullivan Garvin and Ben Nichols. Notre Dame seems to be attacking positional versatility with the three offensive line commits so far, believing any of the three can play at tackle, guard, or center in the future for Notre Dame.


The Pennsylvania product is rated as the No.61 recruit in the country according to 247Sports and is a composite four-star prospect.

Merrill's commitment gives Notre Dame an already star-studded offensive line class early on, which allows Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph to go "big fish hunting" and really go after a highly-coveted five-star offensive lineman to cap off the class.

Notre Dame superfan Shane Gillis also hails from Merrill's hometown of Mechanicsburg so part of me likes to think that he, in one way or another, had something to do with Notre Dame landing Merrill over the in-state Nittany Lions.

The Fighting Irish defeating Penn State in the Orange Bowl right before Merrill made his final decision certainly didn't hurt Notre Dame's chances, either.

Riley Leonard runs for a gain against Penn State in the Orange Bow
Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs the ball in the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Overall, Merrill's game looks to be best suited for guard. It will be interesting to see how his senior season plays out, as Notre Dame is stacked at tackle for the foreseeable future and will have a hole or two at guard when Merrill arrives.

A stacked Notre Dame offensive line got even stronger with this commitment and Merrill could be a candidate to play relatively early once he gets to campus.

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Mason Plummer
MASON PLUMMER

Covered Notre Dame football recruiting since 2017 for Irish Breakdown, Blue & Gold Illustrated and Notre Dame On SI. Covering Notre Dame professionally got me my start in journalism, which led me to getting my degrees in Journalism and Communications from Ball State University in 2021. Featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, Rivals, On3 and more. Have missed multiple weddings and graduation parties for Notre Dame games.

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