Notre Dame An Early Favorite For Dynamic Defender Cincere Johnson

For the second time in a five-week span, 2026 Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville standout linebacker Cincere Johnson made the trip to Notre Dame for the Blue-Gold Game this weekend. While Glenville has historically been a feeder school for Ohio State, Johnson has remained very high on the Irish program early on.

That continued during this return visit. Notre Dame is ready pushing all the right buttons early on, attracting one of the more versatile linebackers in the 2026 class.

“It was a great visit,” Johnson told Irish Breakdown. “My favorite part was getting a glimpse of Notre Dame in full go and it most definitely caught my attention.

“My opinion on Notre Dame is right now it’s a top school for me,” he continued. “I can see myself potentially fitting without question.”

This trip has continued to solidify their standing with Johnson, who has been hearing from Notre Dame consistently since they offered during the Pot of Gold. On film, Johnson is a dynamic second level defender who can potentially do a lot for a defense. The Irish staff is one that could help reach his potential, really seeming to care about all of their players deeply.

“It was nothing but love and competitiveness and that’s awesome,” said Johnson. “They were loving each player and pushing them to be great.”

In Al Golden’s defense, versatility is a huge plus. That’s obviously something that Johnson brings to the table. They are already showing him how he would potentially fit.

“The staff sees me coming in and being great playing a hybrid type of linebacker,” Johnson stated. “That really suits me great.”

Johnson is a well regarded recruit, currently rated as a four-star player on the On3 ranking. They are the lone major recruiting platform that have rated him so far, sitting as the No. 79 overall player, No. 8 linebacker and No. 3 player in the state of Ohio in the 2026 recruiting class.

It’s early on in the process but several big programs are doing deep research on Johnson. So far he currently holds offers from the Fighting Irish, Michigan State, Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Toledo and Central Michigan. It’s anticipated that his offer list will expand quickly this offseason.

Johnson put together a tremendous season as a sophomore in 2023. The 6-3, 225-pound defender recorded 121 total tackles, 24 tackles for loss, seven sacks and three forced fumbles.

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