Lucky Charms: Top 150 recruit sets intriguing Notre Dame return visit
Here are today’s Lucky Charms, a Monday-Thursday insider notes article on Notre Dame football recruiting.
*** The excitement for Notre Dame football’s end-of-summer recruiting event on July 25 continues to build. On Monday, we learned another top 2026 class target plan to be in attendance.
Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville linebacker Cincere Johnson told Blue & Gold he plans to attend this year’s “grill & chill.” It will be the four-star recruit’s third time on campus since adding an Irish offer on Pot of Gold Day.
According to the On3 Industry Ranking, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Johnson is the No. 106 overall player, No. 7 linebacker nationally and No. 3 prospect in Ohio in the 2026 class. In On3’s rankings, Johnson is the No. 88 player but the No. 9 linebacker.
Glenville High School has a long-storied pipeline to Ohio State. In the internet recruiting era, it sent 25 recruits to Columbus, including Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Jr., Donte Whitner, Cardale Jones and Marshon Lattimore.
However, the Buckeyes have yet to offer Johnson, who ranks as the top linebacker in the state. This month’s trip to South Bend is another opportunity for the Irish to grow a lead in Johnson’s recruitment. They have made a great impact on him thus far.
“A little bit,” Johnson told Blue & Gold when asked if the Irish were building a lead in his recruitment in April. “I talk to Notre Dame the most, probably. I connect with the coaches a lot, too. They have kind of taken a little bit of a lead.”
In addition to Notre Dame, Johnson will visit Wisconsin at the end of the month. Louisville, Michigan State, Cincinnati and Michigan are other schools he has seen in the past.
*** Another 2026 recruit looking to visit Notre Dame at the end of the month is four-star defensive back Jordan Thomas from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic. Although it is not completely set in stone, the 6-foot, 175-pound Thomas told On3 director of recruiting Chad Simmons he is planning to get back to South Bend for the cookout.
Notre Dame was the first school Thomas visited. In June 2022, before his high school football career began, he participated in an evaluation camp.
“Coach Mickens has a great history of developing elite talent,” Thomas told Simmons. “I’m supposed to be going to Notre Dame for a cookout in July, and it should be a great experience. It will be my second time up there.”
The On3 Industry Ranking lists Thomas as the No. 231 overall player, No. 17 “athlete” nationally and No. 3 prospect in the class.
*** This week, I have been connecting with 2026 recruits who Notre Dame is targeting. One player the staff has made a strong impression on is San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic four-star EDGE Simote Katoanga.
Irish defensive line coach Al Washington has been talking to the 6-5, 240-pound Katoanga weekly since he earned his offer after participating in Notre Dame’s camp on June 17. That was his second trip to campus.
While I don’t expect Katoanga to make the cross-country trip to South Bend at the end of this month, the Irish continue to impress the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 304 overall player and No. 23 EDGE in the class. Oregon is another school to watch. The Ducks will host him on July 27.
Katoanga is a high school teammate of Irish 2025 four-star linebacker target Madden Faraimo.
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