Irish Breakdown

What 2026 Tight End Ian Premer Brings to Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame landed a massive commitment from 2026 TE Ian Premer on Thursday.
Mason Plummer|
Sep 7, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock watches warmups before the game against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Notre Dame Stadium.
Sep 7, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Offensive Coordinator Mike Denbrock watches warmups before the game against the Northern Illinois Huskies at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Winning recruiting battles is always fun, especially when you are landing a Top 50 player in the country. In a bit of a shock commitment yesterday, Notre Dame managed to land a commitment from elite four-star Ian Premer, despite all signs pointing towards him staying home to play for the in-state Kansas State Wildcats.

Ultimately, it seems logic prevailed for Premer. Notre Dame is at worst the second-best school in the country at producing NFL tight ends, behind (maybe) Iowa. When it came down to staying home, or going to "Tight End U" and getting one of the best educations in the country, Premer committed to Notre Dame on Thursday, June 26.

In landing the Kansas product, the Fighting Irish got one of the best recruits in the country, regardless of position.

It begs the question: What exactly is Notre Dame getting with Ian Premer?

Standing at 6-5, 220 pounds, Premer is a freak athlete that is almost jarring when you throw on the tape. Simply put, a kid of that size and stature really should not be able to move the way he does. He plays with a certain reckless abandon, one that clearly shows full-effort on every single play.

As the premier player on both sides of the ball for Great Bend High School, Premer notched 541 yards on 30 receptions last season, along with eight receiving touchdowns in 10 games played. He was also a weapon on the ground, tallying 260 yards on 37 carries and added two touchdowns.

Given he is much larger than 90% of the players he plays against in high school, blocking is not an issue for Premer whatsoever but it is encouraging that he shows great form rather than just using brute strength.

On defense, he added 50 tackles and three interceptions from a hybrid safety role.

With the addition of Premer, Notre Dame boasts likely the best tight end room in the country. Premer's future counterpart, Preston Fryzel, also recently committed to the Fighting Irish. While Fryzel does not have the recruiting prestige as Premer, both are top-notch TE recruits that pair up extremely well together.

Notre Dame fans should be excited to see these two in South Bend.

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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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