Notre Dame coaches on the road: Irish expected to check in on DL committed elsewhere
For the 10th time this spring, the Notre Dame football coaching staff is back on the road recruiting. Commits, targets and prospects nationwide should expect Fighting Irish coaches to stop by their schools on Wednesday — including one pledged to an opposing program.
During the spring evaluation period, the Irish staff can have “contact” with high school juniors. That means they can have full-on conversations rather than just a “bump” as previously allowed. But as far as 2026 prospects go, the “bump” rule remains.
The NCAA does not permit head coaches from visiting prospects during the spring period.
Here is where the Fighting Irish staff is expected to be on Wednesday, according to Blue & Gold sources:
— Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Mike Denbrock will dribble on over to Reidsville (N.C.) High to see elite 2026 class TE Kendre Harrison. The Irish offered the No. 6 player and No. 1 tight end in the class on Pot of Gold Day.
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound Harrison is also a standout basketball prospect. Blue & Gold recently reported on his recruitment here.
— Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has a heavy dose of visits on the docket. He’ll see Notre Dame 2025 offensive tackle commit Will Black at Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall and West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial 2024 offensive tackle signee Guerby Lambert. Black and Lambert are their respective classes’ No. 4 and 9 OTs.
Rudolph will also make it to Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian’s to gather information on 2026 four-star offensive lineman Marky Walbridge, the No. 21 interior OL in the class. Rudolph should also be at Marlon (Mass.) Tabor Academy, where 2027 OL Botond Varga could be a prospect of interest. Walbridge and Varga do not have Notre Dame offers.
— Defensive line coach Al Washington will also be in Massachusetts, and two of his three stops are at St. Sebastian’s and Catholic Memorial. At St. Sebastian’s, he’ll see three-star Dominic Funke, the No. 25 EDGE in the 2026 class. Catholic Memorial is also home to rising 2025 DL JD Rayner. He has offers from UMass, Fordham, Cornell and Bryant.
Washington will also be at Belmont (Mass.) Belmont Hill to see 2025 three-star EDGEs Tommy Rupley and Sampson Onuoha. Rupley and Onuoha are the No. 67 and 71 EDGE rushers in the class, respectively. Onuoha has been committed to Duke since March 29.
Funke, Rayner, Rupley and Onuhoa do not have Notre Dame offers.
—Defensive coordinator Al Golden is expected to check in with 2025 linebacker commit Anthony Sacca and 2026 linebacker target Maurice Barnes. Philadelphia St. Joseph’s Prep Sacca is the No. 26 linebacker in his class. Comparatively, Barnes ranks No. 38 in his.
— Defensive backs coach Mike Mickens will see 2026 four-star cornerbacks Joey O’Brien and Hakim Satterwhite, who added Notre Dame offers on Pot of Gold Day. Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College’s O’Brien ranks as the No. 30 safety in the class, while Satterwhite is the No. 15 cornerback.
Mickens will also stop by Owings Mills (Md.) McDonogh School to see 2025 four-star “athlete” Brandon Finney. Notre Dame offered Finney as a wide receiver, but the No. 311 overall player in the class prefers to play defensive back in college.
— Running backs coach Deland McCullough will head down to Pike Road (Ala.) High to check in with four-star RB Ja’Michael Jones. Notre Dame offered the No. 19 running back in the 2026 class on Pot of Gold Day.
— Linebackers coach Max Bullough will also be in Alabama to see four 2027 class linebackers who are already power conference prospects. Two of them, JaBarrius Garror and Emmanuel Gales, attend Mobile (Ala.) Vigor.
The other two thumpers Bullough will learn about are Moody (Ala.) High’s Ba’Roc Willis and Mobile (Ala.) Williamson’s Ellis McGaskin.
The only 2027 prospect with a Notre Dame offer is Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne athlete Jamier Brown.
— Quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli remains in California with a focused stop to see a 2027 quarterback. He’s expected at Huntington Beach (Calif.) High’s Brady Edmunds. Guidugli was also scheduled to see Ontario (Calif.) Ontario Christian’s Daniel Mielke, but he was at his high school on Tuesday.
Both signal-callers have multiple power conference scholarship offers. Mielke visited Notre Dame earlier this spring.
— Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi heads to Saint George (Utah) Pine View to see the No. 3 tight end in 2026, Brock Harris. The four-star prospect with a Notre Dame offer will visit campus in June.
Wide receivers coach Mike Brown will be in Virginia, which is also where he is from. Meanwhile, the state features the Nos. 7, 13 and 15 pass catchers in the class: Davion Brown, Dyzier Carter and Travis Smith.
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