Irish 2026 commits shatter rankings, securing Notre Dame the No. 1 class. Elite talents like McKeogh and Dunham lead the charge.
On3/Rivals has released its final rankings for the 2026 class and the final Top 300 is loaded with Notre Dame signees. The movement in the final rankings solidified Notre Dame having the No. 1 ranked class in the final On3/Rivals team rankings.
Notre Dame's highest ranked player is Glendale (Pa.) LaSalle College offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh. The 6-7, 280-pound lineman ranks as the No. 7 player in the country and the No. 3 offensive tackle. One spot behind him at No. 8 nationally is Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park defensive end Rodney Dunham, who is also ranked as the No. 3 edge player in the country.
At No. 23 nationally is Towson (Md.) Loyola Blakefield cornerback Khary Adams, who is ranked as the No. 3 cornerback in the country. Two spots behind him at No. 25 is Glenside (Pa.) LaSalle College safety Joey O'Brien, who was a dominant safety and wide receiver as a senior. O'Brien is ranked as the No. 1 safety in the country. Notre Dame is the only team in the country with multiple Top 30 defensive backs and with multiple five-star secondary players.
Those aren't the only standout secondary players in the class for Notre Dame. Winter Park (Fla.) High School cornerback Ayden Pouncey jumped up over 60 spots and finished ranked as the No. 34 overall player in the country. He missed being a five-star by just two spots. Pouncey is ranked as the No. 3 cornerback in the country.
In an odd drop, Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic cornerback Chaz Smith fell 80 spots to No. 184. He was No. 104 after the 2026 season ended and fell 80 spots despite playing zero football between the last ranking and now. Even with Smith falling, the Irish have four defensive backs ranked inside the Top 200 of the final On3/Rivals rankings.
Great Bend (Kan.) High School tight end Ian Premer stayed at No. 27 nationally in the final rankings and finished as the No. 1 tight end in the country. Premer is an elite talent that dominated as a pass catcher, runner, defender and return man for Great Bend. Notre Dame signed another top tight end in Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic star Preston Fryzel, who ranked as the No. 195 overall player in the country and the No. 9 tight end in the country. Notre Dame is the only team to sign a pair of Top 10 tight ends in the 2026 class.
McKeogh, Dunham, Adams, O'Brien and Premer were all ranked as five-star recruits.
Garner (N.C.) South Garner defensive end Ebenezer Ewetade ranked as the No. 38 overall player in the country, which was 10 spots lower than he was on the previous rankings. Ewetade and Dunham both ranked as Top 10 edge players in the class, which makes Notre Dame the only team in the country to sign a pair of Top 10 edge rushers.
Notre Dame landed a pair of Top 150 running backs in the 2026 class. Carrollton (Ga.) Central standout Jonaz Walton ranked as the No. 121 overall player in the country and the No. 6 running back. Forney (Texas) High School star Javian Osborne ranked as the No. 135 overall player and the No. 9 running back. Notre Dame and USC were the only teams to sign a pair of Top 10 running backs in the 2026 class.
Notre Dame signed two a pair of Top 300 wide receivers in the class as well. Aledo (Texas) High School pass catcher Kaydon Finley ranked as the No. 122 overall player in the country. Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy College standout Devin Fitzgerald jumped into the final Top 300 rankings, going from unranked to No. 243 overall in the final rankings. Despite not playing any games between the last ranking and the final ranking, Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military athlete Bubba Frazier dropped out of the Top 300. He was ranked No. 239 overall in the most recent rankings and has not played a game since that time.
McKeogh isn't the only Notre Dame offensive line signee to rank in the On3/Rivals Top 300. Portage (Mich.) Northern offensive tackle Gregory Patrick ranked as the No. 213 overall player in the country while Darien (Conn.) Avon Old Farms offensive tackle Charlie Thom ranked as the No. 228 overall player. Thom went from an unranked three-star to being a Top 300 player during his prep year at Avon Old Farms.
Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney defensive tackle Elijah Golden ranked as the No. 229 overall player in the country despite being a first-team All-American by On3/Rivals for his dominant final season. Golden led Cardinal Mooney to a state championship after racking up 39 tackles for loss and 17 sacks as a senior.
North Cobb (Ga.) High School quarterback Teddy Jarrard reclassifed from the 2027 to the 2026 class. He was ranked as the No. 72 overall player in the country when he was in the 2027 class but fell to No. 242 overall when he reclassified.
Notre Dame had seven signees ranked in the Top 50, which is more than any team in the country. In fact, Notre Dame had as many Top 30 players (5) as any other team had in the Top 50, and only Ohio State and USC had that many Top 50 players.
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