Northern Recruiting Wins Have Played A Big Role In Notre Dame's Success
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Every championship contender on the recruiting trail looks to make impacts in states like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and California. Notre Dame has several impact players on their roster from these recruiting hot beds, but it's the northern recruiting wins on the Fighting Irish roster that have driven a lot of their on-field success and will continue to do so this season.
When you breakdown their current roster, there are 24 players that will either be starters, in the two deep or somewhere in the rotation who were recruited from northern states. In breaking down 'northern states' I'm not including places like North Carolina or Missouri. The northern states that have produced top-level talent on Notre Dame's roster are states like Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Indiana, Maryland, Illinois and Massachusetts.
Let's start on the offensive side of the ball. One of the biggest named players on their 2026 roster is returning starting quarterback CJ Carr who is from Saline, Michigan. Carr is a preseason Heisman favorite and is one of the top returning signal callers in the country. He'll be joined in the backfield by running back Nolan James Jr. who will rotate in throughout the season; James Jr. is from Westwood, New Jersey.
Staying in the state of New Jersey, one player who has a good shot at winning the boundary receiver job is Ohio State transfer Quincy Porter who is from New Milford, New Jersey. Rising redshirt freshman Elijah Burress also played high school ball in New Jersey and hails from Totowa. Fellow Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham is an in-state player and is from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Receiver Cam Williams who could breakout this fall is from Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
Tight end James Flanigan is from Green Bay, Wisconsin and will have a homecoming game in Notre Dame's season opener this year. Three of their five starting offensive lineman are from the north. Center Ashton Craig is from Lawrenceburg, Indiana, right tackle Guerby Lambert is from Boston, Massachusetts and left tackle Will Black is from Ontario, Canada and played high school ball at Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut.
Impact talent can also be found on the defensive side of the ball from the north. Standout defensive end Boubacar Traore is also from Boston, Massachusetts and played at the same high school at Lambert on the offensive line. Four of Notre Dame's defensive tackles are also from the north. Pitt transfer Francis Brewu is from Westerville, OH, Christopher Burgess is from Chicago, Illinois, Jason Onye is from Rhode Island and Armel Mukam is from Quebec, Canada.
Middle linebacker, and returning captain, Drayk Bowen is another in-state player and is from St. John, Indiana. Cornerback Mark Zackery IV is also from Indiana but is from down in Indianapolis. Fellow cornerback Khary Adams, who could get some time as a true freshman, is from Baltimore Maryland. Both of Notre Dame's starting safeties are from the north as well. Returning captain Adon Shuler is from Irvington, New Jersey and Brauntae Johnson is from Fort Wayne, Indiana while true freshman Joey O'Brien is from Roxborough, Pennsylvania and Ethan Long is from Milford, Connecticut.
Obviously, there's players on the cusp of being 'northern recruits' but I don't consider North Carolina or Missouri as northern recruiting states. Nonetheless, the Irish have picked up impact talent from there as well. Three of their defensive ends who will play in 2026 are from North Carolina in Bryce Young, Ebenezer Ewetade and Rodney Dunham. Starting right guard Sullivan Absher is also from North Carolina.
Cornerback Christian Gray, defensive tackle Tionne Gray and running back Aneyas Williams are from Missouri and safety Luke Talich is from Cody, Wyoming which is technically "north" but most consider it more in the "west". But none of this means that you don't recruit those recruiting hotbed states either.
Notre Dame has impactful talent from Texas, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. Leonard Moore is the best cornerback in the country; he's from Round Rock, Texas. Another cornerback who will make a big impact for the Irish this year is Colorado transfer DJ McKinney who is from Colleyville, Texas. Receivers Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison will be key on this year's team and both are from the south.
Greathouse is from Austin, Texas and Faison is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Starting left guard Anthonie Knapp is the only starting offensive lineman from Georgia. Linebacker Jaiden Ausberry is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and defensive end Keon Keeley who transferred from Alabama is from Tampa, Florida. Running back Kedren Young, who will likely be in the rotation this fall, is from Lufkin, Texas.
If you're a program contending for a title, which Notre Dame is, you have to be able to have recruiting wins across the country. The goal is to find top-level talent that fits your program and the culture you're building regardless of the state you're from. Head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff has certainly done that over the years and this year's team is a prime example.
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