Notre Dame is really stepping up its recruiting game this year. After their recent trip to the national championship final last season, head coach Marcus Freeman is pulling out all the stops. As per Rivals, the Fighting Irish ranked at No. 11 for the 2025 recruiting class, way behind Georgia and Ohio State. But this season, Coach Freeman’s program has outdone almost everyone with the No. 2 spot in the 2026 recruiting class with 12 ESPN 300 commits, including Tyler Merrill and Rodney Dunham. And they are still not done. With over two months still left to the regular season, South Bend is expected to be busier with a bunch of key recruits visiting, including a five-star talent.

As of now, Marcus Freeman’s 2026 class has 16 commits. The head coach said that before their near-flawless run up to the national championship game, not a lot of high school prospects would entertain Notre Dame. “But if you don’t get ’em to even listen, then you have zero chance. And so I think now, at least, we have a chance,” he said. Freeman’s current class has one 5-star recruit and 13 four-star commits. This group is loaded with blue-chip talent through and through. Despite being a national championship contender, the 39-year-old might be losing his grip on a major prospect.

Joey O’Brien, a 5-star safety, has Notre Dame, Penn State, Clemson, and Oregon Ducks as his finalists before revealing his commitment on June 20. Considering Joey will be visiting Notre Dame just a week before his commitment, the Fighting Irish may have some edge over other programs to influence the 6’3″, 185 lbs safety. However, despite having an advantage, Freeman’s program might not be in the driver’s seat after all.

Ryan Roberts said in a June 6 video on A to Z Sports’ Notre Dame YouTube channel, “I believe that as of today, Joey O’Brien will not end with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, more than likely.” Vying readily for the athlete’s commitment are Penn State and Clemson, Roberts highlighted. He still thinks there is a slim chance of Notre Dame landing O’Brien. He has moved up his dates for the Notre Dame visit and will be in South Bend on June 13 after official visits to Oregon and Clemson.

“Mike Mickens, Marcus Freeman and the entire defensive staff, the entire Notre Dame staff in general, and Mike Martin, the general manager, they have their chance to really put their best case forward. And he’s been on campus several times obviously over the last couple of years so he understands the appeal of Notre Dame football.”

Roberts also mentioned that Notre Dame was one of the earliest programs to enter the recruiting battle for O’Brien when he was still a three-star prospect. Now ranked the No. 5 safety, he has narrowed down his favorites to the above 4 programs. “He has been recruited by Notre Dame as a corner early on, but it’s kind of been extended to a little bit of an athlete perspective. He could play wide receiver, he could play corner, he could play safety… they have valued him very early on, which is why Notre Dame has been within the top two to three schools with Joey O’Brien for the longest time before even he had an expansive offer list,” Roberts revealed. “It’s championship-level football and an opportunity to get a meaningful degree from a prestigious school,” O’Brien told On3’s Steve Wiltfong.

It’s still unclear why Notre Dame might be losing out on O’Brien. Penn State is also on notice, like Marcus Freeman, especially since O’Brien is a Pennsylvania native. According to Roberts, “He always liked a couple schools a little bit more than Notre Dame.” He still could end up with the Fighting Irish at the end, because Freeman has the last shot at making an impact. Though O’Brien remains an unsure candidate, the HC is trying to land another target, who has an interesting recruitment history.

Marcus Freeman poaching a Penn State commit?

Messiah Mickens, up until now, is still scheduled to join James Franklin at Happy Valley next year. However, he has also opened and shut his recruitment multiple times so far. That led to Notre Dame pursuing the 4-star RB relentlessly, in hopes of flipping him from the program. They’re doing it for a reason, of course. Former PSU RB coach Ja’Juan Seider arrived at Notre Dame. He is Freeman’s guy for the job and was still being linked to Mickens as of last month. Mike Singer revealed in a May 6 video of Notre Dame Football on Blue and Gold that this commitment to Penn State still has room for change.

“I mean, like he had already announced in January, hey, I’m shutting down my recruitment. I believe he was looking at like South Carolina. And I mean, he’s announced three times he’s shut it [his] recruitment down between committing and then January, and then at the end of March. I mean, this is a recruiting process. Things change,” Singer revealed. Also, Seider was the man who got Mickens to commit to Penn State. Mickens’ recruiting has been subject to quite a change. The RB could still very much be a Fighting Irish before National Signing Day comes up.

Marcus Freeman is taking Notre Dame recruiting to new heights; that’s a fact as clear as day. But along the ride, he is bound to miss out on a few prospects. There is still time for Freeman to land both Mickens and O’Brien. Will the HC be able to make the final sell for these two prospects?