No. 2 College Football IOL Prospect Emerges as Top Target for Two Major Programs

The Louisiana blocker is reportedly down to an SEC powerhouse and a top-five Fighting Irish class.

A top college football IOL recruit in the Class of 2027 is down to two finalists. | Recruit Louisiana

The race for one of the most coveted blockers in the class of 2027 is tightening to a pair of national contenders, with one staff working from a Southern stronghold and the other building momentum out of South Bend.

According to Steve Wiltfong, vice president of recruiting and transfer portal for Rivals, the Louisiana lineman is leaning toward a decision between Texas A&M and Notre Dame. Wiltfong said on his Wiltfong Whiparound segment that "Texas A&M continues to trend, but the Irish are one of the programs giving him a lot to think about."

Albert Simien, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound interior offensive lineman out of Sam Houston High School in Lake Charles, ranks as the No. 10 overall player and the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the 2027 Rivals rankings. His late-spring visit slate runs through Nebraska on June 5, Texas A&M on June 12 and Notre Dame on June 19.

Why Texas A&M leads the chase

Mike Elko holds the No. 1 spot in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, with three five-star commitments already aboard. That group includes Houston-area offensive tackle Kennedy Brown, the No. 15 player in the Rivals Industry Ranking, and St. Thomas Aquinas tackle Mark Matthews out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

That run of trench wins gives the Aggies real ammunition. Texas A&M is selling Simien on joining a room with two of the country's top blockers, and Rivals national analyst Sam Spiegelman has logged a prediction for the Aggies dating back to last fall.

NEW: Texas A&M continues to make strong impression on 2027 Louisiana OL Albert Simien as his recruitment heats up.

“Coach Elko’s great. He’s a real family man… it’s not just football talk, it’s personal life.” @Albert_Simien33 | @GigEm247 | #GigEm https://t.co/JIxSpBfeTN

— Cade Draughon (@Cade_Draughon) May 8, 2026

Proximity matters, too. Texas A&M is the closest power-program option to Lake Charles outside of LSU, and Simien has already taken a January trip to College Station.

Adding him to a class that already sits No. 1 nationally would push Elko's average commitment rating into territory the modern recruiting era rarely sees.

How Notre Dame closes the gap

Marcus Freeman and offensive line coach Joe Rudolph have spent the past two weeks turning the Irish into the hottest staff in the country, jumping to No. 5 in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings on the heels of five-star tackle Oluwasemilore Olubobola and five-star defensive tackle David Folorunsho.

Academics are the lever. Co-host Josh Newberg noted that "Albert Simien told me he's got a 4.0 GPA and really loves what Notre Dame can bring academically. We will see. They don't really go into Louisiana that often, but for five-star offensive linemen, they sure will."

Rivals scouting analyst Charles Power calls Simien a "dominant interior offensive line prospect whose combination of length, functional mobility, and balance makes him one of the top linemen in the 2027 cycle."

Pair that profile with a Notre Dame line room that just added a five-star tackle and four-star James Halter, and the Irish pitch becomes a development case wrapped in a degree.