Lucky Charms: Intriguing 2026 safety set to visit Notre Dame

Here are today’s Lucky Charms, a Monday-Thursday insider notes article on Notre Dame football recruiting.

*** Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy’s Kaden Gebhardt, the nation’s No. 404 overall player and No. 35 safety according to 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, tells Blue & Gold that he’s set to visit Notre Dame July 25 for the staff’s cookout recruiting event. Gebhardt doesn’t hold an offer from the Irish yet, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if that changed in the near future, potentially during his visit.

Gebhardt has been in close communication with the Notre Dame staff in recent weeks. In fact, I’m told that the Irish staff got on a call with Gebhardt on June 15, the first day that college coaches were allowed to directly reach out to class of 2026 prospect. To me, that shows that the Notre Dame staff is serious about Gebhardt.

The three-star recruit holds offers from West Virginia, Purdue, Penn State, Cincinnati and others. He performed well at Notre Dame’s Irish Invasion camp in early June and worked out at linebacker. Gebhardt tested well for the staff. If offered by the ND coaches, he’ll be one to keep a close eye on for the long run.

*** Another prospect the Irish got in contact with a month ago today was Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point’s Jermaine Santana-Diaz, a class of 2026 safety who is currently unranked. Santana-Diaz tells Blue & Gold that he’s staying in regular contact with the Fighting Irish staff, and he had a great visit to campus back in April. Notre Dame was the first school to offer Santana-Diaz back in March for Pot of Gold day, and he’s since added Boston College and Oklahoma to his offer sheet.

“Everyone made me feel like family — from the time went to the golden dome to when I left,” Santana-Diaz told Blue & Gold about his trip to South Bend. “The coaching staff is great. I spoke with them briefly, but they told me why to come back again so we can build that relationship. The spring game was fun, I watched closely to how the players interacted with each other while also competing. I know Coach Freeman used to be the defensive coordinator, and that defense looked great. No matter how many offers I get, Notre Dame will be a top-five school for me. It feels so close to home even though I’m 16 hours away.”

*** Reidsville (N.C.) High’s Kendre Harrison, the No. 6 overall player and No. 1 tight end in the land per the 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, narrowed down his recruitment to six schools today, and unsurprisingly, he left Notre Dame offer his list. North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Penn State, Miami and Florida State make up his top choices. The Irish offered the five-star recruit in March, but it was always going to be an uphill battle for Notre Dame. He never visited campus.

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