Notre Dame Recruiting: How Reaching the National Championship Boosts the Irish

Notre Dame’s CFP title game appearance could reshape its recruiting future. Breaking down the potential impact.

(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

When it comes to recruiting, the more eyes that are on your program, the better. The more your program is on the national stage, where recruits are watching, the better.

Notre Dame having the opportunity to play in and win three College Football Playoff games has been absolutely massive in dozens of facets for Notre Dame as a university and a football program and the recruiting fallout will be massive.

One of the massive roadblocks preventing Notre Dame from perennially being in the top 3-5 programs annually in recruiting has been the inability to win games on the biggest stage.

In the Brian Kelly era, Notre Dame lost its three biggest games on the biggest stage and people don't forget that. Those games, largely were blowouts. Elite high school athletes want to play, and win, on the biggest stage and while Notre Dame was making it occasionally, it was losing and by a lot.

Losing by multiple scores in the national championship (2012) and both prior College Football Playoff appearances (2018, 2020) was not ideal.

WE ARE HEADED TO THE 2025 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ☘️

SEE YA IN ATLANTA #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/aTu3hHgl0V

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 10, 2025

While Freeman has benefitted from the playoff being expanded to 12 teams, there is no denying the fact that he is winning big games that Kelly simply was not and is winning them at a clip Notre Dame has not seen in nearly 40 years.

Notre Dame is an attractive program for recruits with everything it offers and how large the brand is and when you back that up with winning, the possibilities are endless.

The Fighting Irish just making the national title game, much less winning the whole thing, is massive.

Freeman will be pitching the ability to truly do the best of both worlds when it comes to getting a top-tier education and playing national championship-winning football.

There are a handful of recruits we are keeping an eye on as Notre Dame continues its playoff run and gears up towards the national championship game against Ohio State.

Among those, DL Elijah Golden, SAF Jett Washington, DL McHale Blade, WR Connor Salmin and OT Gregory Patrick are ones to watch. Each is a difference-maker at their respective position and each are being recruited heavily by the Fighting Irish recruiting staff.