Marcus Freeman and his staff are building an extremely formidable 2026 recruiting class. According to the 247Sports Composite, it’s the No. 3 class in the nation. What that means is that the Fighting Irish won’t just be contenders in 2025, but they’ll be strong for the next few seasons as well. Specifically, they’re projecting to be strong along the defensive line, because a big part of Notre Dame’s 2026 recruiting success is the elite defensive line grouping the Fighting Irish are bringing in. It was already a strong group, but over the weekend, it got even stronger. Elijah Golden, a 4-star defensive lineman from Sarasota, Florida, committed to Notre Dame on Saturday. According to 247Sports, he’s the No. 16 defensive lineman in the 2026 class. He committed to Notre Dame over Alabama, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech. “Mainly the coaching staff is good and they rocked with [me] for a long time and the fanbase is crazy,” Golden told Steve Wiltfong of Rivals regarding his commitment. “I’d definitely say the people,
