© Elijah Golden
Notre Dame Impresses IMG Defensive End Elijah Golden
Notre Dame hosted Florida DE Elijah Golden for a visit and the Irish staff made a strong first impression
For the first time, 2026 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive lineman Elijah Golden made the trip to Notre Dame this past weekend. He was among a very talented group of 2026 defensive recruits who traveled to check out the Blue-Gold Game and conclusion of spring ball.
For Golden, it was a chance to get a deeper appreciation of the Irish program. It is a school that he already had a deep appreciation for, but this visit took that to another level.
"The visit overall was very good,” Golden told Irish Breakdown. "My favorite part was the game and the food. Notre Dame has a wonderful facility as well.”
A lot of the visit was dedicated to Golden to get to know the coaches a lot better. That included Al Washington, who he spent a lot of quality time with. Golden is an extremely talented and versatile defensive lineman, who Notre Dame seems to have big plans for.
"The conversations were good with the coaches,” Golden explained. "I didn't get to talk to the players but seeing them in action was great. Overall they were great people. Coach Washington thinks I can get up to about 285 pounds and move all over the line. They think I’m a pretty unique talent.”
There was a clear pitch from Notre Dame this weekend. Golden leaves the visit very high on everything they can provide.
"Notre Dame has a very great football team and it's a good school to attend,” he said. "They also have a great education. I see myself being a versatile player if I end up there, having the talent to play defensive end or defensive tackle.”
The talented defensive lineman is a player that the Irish staff is very high on early. Golden leaves this visit with no doubts for just how important he is for their 2026 class potentially.
Golden’s offer list has been developing quickly. Some of the top schools that have extended offers include the Irish, North Carolina, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Duke, Virginia and Indiana among others.
The 6-5, 250-pound defensive lineman didn’t see much time at IMG Academy as a sophomore but is expected to be a huge riser as a junior. He is originally from the state of Virginia before making his way down to Bradenton.
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