Notre Dame Is In A Strong Early Position With Offensive Lineman Rowan Byrne

It’s no secret that 2025 New Rochelle (N.Y.) Iona Prep offensive tackle Rowan Byrne is very high on Notre Dame. Following his performance at a camp with the Irish staff, Byrne was offered and immediately called Notre Dame his "dream school.”

Since that offer his affinity for Notre Dame has continued to grow. There’s no question Notre Dame will be a top contender for Byrne, who is one of the more physically imposing offensive lineman in the 2025 recruiting class.

Byrne spoke with Irish Breakdown about what he's looking for in a college, and it was clear that Notre Dame has a lot of what he's looking for.

"A great school, that's nonnegotiable for me,” Byrne explained. "I want to go to a school like Notre Dame. It’s an extremely hard school to get into. I have good grades but I don’t have Notre Dame grades so I’m going to use football to get into that school, and get a phenomenal degree. That's a key thing for me, a great degree.”

Grades, and academics as a whole, consistently align with the Notre Dame program, as does the reputation of developing great offensive lineman, which Byrne holds at a high priority.

"Offensive line tradition is also very important,” said Byrne. "You get a feel for that when you’re at a school. Notre Dame has that.”

Then there’s the fit, which is a little harder to quantify. Having already been on campus multiple times, it’s a little easier for Byrne to understand.

“Fit is another big thing,” he added. “Do I fit in with that culture of that program? Do I fit with their program, and how much of a priority am I to that school? That’s another good thing with Notre Dame, especially with Coach (Joe) Rudolph. What does he offer, seven guys a class? He isn’t offering a kid who isn’t a priority.

“You know if he’s offering you, he wants you at his school,” Byrne continued. “From what he’s telling me, I would fit in perfectly with that offensive line group.”

Byrne also has a very thorough timeline set for trying to make this decision. Most prospects struggle to schedule things a couple days in advance, but Byrne has the next 18 months already in order.

"My games are on Saturdays, which makes it difficult to get up and see games," Byrne explained. "However, I have a Friday game the week of the Ohio State-Notre Dame game. I’ll be up for that one at Notre Dame. That’s my plan. I have one more Friday game on October 27th, the next day I’ll be at the Ohio State-Wisconsin game. That makes it easy for me so I don’t have to worry about it during the season.”

Those visits will obviously come during the season. Byrne also has two summer visits remaining.

"Texas A&M, I just want to see it,” Byrne said of his summer visits. "I haven’t seen any Southern SEC schools yet, so I think I’d like to get down there and just see it."

Byrne will also be at Notre Dame, and he recently visited Michigan. Those are two of his top early schools.

"My favorite three schools right now are Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin,” Byrne continued. "I took my trip to all three of those schools three weeks ago now. I can’t get to a Michigan game this fall, so I’m going to see Michigan this summer. So I’ll be able to see Michigan, see a Notre Dame game and see a Wisconsin game.”

With those three top schools in mind, Byrne already has the plan to continue his deep dive next off-season. Byrne once again knows exactly what he’s looking.

"Going forward from there, next spring I’m going to like I did a couple of weeks ago,” said Byrne. “I want to get back up for two days at each of Notre Dame, Michigan and Wisconsin before official visits.

"In terms of making a commitment, I’d like to have that done before next season starts,” continued Byrne. "I’m not sure exactly when it will be but before the season definitely. I don’t want to be in season having to think about where I’m going to go play football.”

Byrne’s process will conclude with signing on the first national signing day, then enrolling early to his prospective school. Notre Dame has positioned himself well early on and will need to continue that momentum during the season.

Byrne is considered a four-star recruit on the On3 ranking. He currently sits as the No. 151 overall player and No. 14 offensive tackle in the 2025 recruiting class. That ranking also has Byrne rated as the top player in the state of New York.

The 6-6, 290-pound offensive tackle has been pulling in a variety of scholarship offers over the last few weeks. Some of the notable programs who have pulled the trigger include Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Stanford, Maryland, Minnesota, Boston College, Duke, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers among others.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2023 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2023 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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