Five-star DL David Folorunsho picks Notre Dame over Michigan, Miami, Georgia

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Chicago (Ill.) St. Patrick five-star defensive lineman David Folorunsho locked in with Notre Dame on Friday and announced his commitment to Marcus Freeman and the Irish  during a live broadcast on the Rivals YouTube Page.

Ranked by the Rivals300 as the nation’s No. 2 defensive lineman and No. 9 prospect overall, the 6-foot-3, 285-pound Folorunsho chose to play for Notre Dame over his other finalists in Miami, Michigan, Georgia and others.

Folorunsho becomes commit No. 16 for the Irish in the 2027 class, and was recruited to South Bend by future defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, and off-field ace Carter Auman among others.

“I feel like it was the community aspect,” Folorunsho told Rivals. “The staff, Coach Freeman, Coach Partridge and the overall community aspect and the life after football.”

Folorunsho becomes one of the jewels of a Notre Dame class Rivals previously ranked No. 8 nationally. He visited the Irish campus twice in the fall and his high school head coach Tom Zbikowski, the president of his school Dan Santucci and his personal trainer Kerry Neal all played football at ND.

“The people that are around me,” Folorunsho said. “I know what Notre Dame has done for them over their lifetime. Just knowing that, knowing everything Notre Dame offers, you can’t go away from that. You can’t turn that down.”

Folorunsho is excited to play for Freeman.

“Just the type of person he is,” Folorunsho said. “You can tell he’s a genuine person. He tells you how it is. How he coaches too. He’s a leader of men.”

Folorunsho looks forward to learning every day from Partridge.

“You can tell he’s a true developer,” Folorunsho said. “He’s developed his guys to be the best player they can be. The relationship we’ve made over a short time together has been a great experience so far.”

Scouting new Notre Dame commit David Folorunsho

Rivals Director of Scouting Charles Power loves the new pickup for Notre Dame.

“Twitched up defensive lineman with a rare combination of size and athleticism along the interior. Measured at 6-foot-3, 285 pounds with 34-inch arms prior to his senior season. Came onto the national scene following a breakout junior campaign. Plays all over the defensive line, lining up on the edge and along the interior. Able to quickly disengage and flashes encouraging hand usage for a young player. Shows elite burst on film, darting into the backfield and running sideline-to-sideline with ease. Closing speed is jarring. Looks like a linebacker when tracking down ball carriers in pursuit. Finished with 15 tackles for loss and five sacks as a junior. Still mastering technique and will need continued development but has one of the highest upsides among defensive linemen in the 2027 cycle.”

Zbikowski has raved about Folorunsho as well.

“His work ethic,” Zbikowski said. “Of the players I’ve seen make it, he has that same type of work ethic where it’s every day. Any moment he can steal a moment to work on something, he’s working on something. That’s usually a tell-tale sign.

“The way he can run. The length, the strength, there are times we put him on the O-line and he grabs people and their feet start twitching. They know they have no chance to do anything when he has his hands on them. It’s a shock for people we play with how strong he is. We put him on the goal line to block and he puts them out of the back of the end zone routinely. And it definitely requires two people to block him.”

“But he loves it. He enjoys the daily grind of it. Not a lot of people do. Especially now that they’re getting paid, they definitely don’t.”

The Irish have always been a front-runner

Folorunsho has always spoken highly of Notre Dame.

“When I started playing football Notre Dame was the offer I wanted to get. I told my trainer (Neal) I wanted to go to Notre Dame and he told me my work ethic at the time wasn’t going to get me there. It really showed me you can always work harder.

“Notre Dame is definitely a huge one on my board. When I went there it felt like it was so exclusive. Everybody can’t do what Notre Dame guys can do. If you play college football at Notre Dame that’s special. I’m just around Notre Dame guys. I train with Notre Dame guys. I once trained with Rylie Mills. That was huge for me too. I didn’t know who he was but I realized once we did a couple drills this dude is something serious.”

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