NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Notre Dame has put one of the best defenses on the field for each of the last three seasons, and a big reason for that has been the outstanding recruiting being done since Marcus Freeman arrived. Notre Dame has landed yet another outstanding defensive haul in the 2026 class. In fact, this might be the best haul yet, and it's at least in the conversation up front and in the secondary. 

Notre Dame continues to close the gap, and with the class now officially signed its time to hand out grades. Here are my grades for the 2026 defensive class:

DEFENSIVE LINE

Grade: A-
Signee: Rodney Dunham (DE), Ebenezer Ewetade (DE), Elijah Golden (DT), Tiki Hola (DT)

This is a truly special defensive line class, especially on the outside. Notre Dame has recruited the edge well, but there is another level they can and must get to. More than half of the edge rotation right now are converted linebackers, and while the Irish have been able to land standouts like Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young, more is needed, and the 2026 class gives them that. Rodney Dunham is a five-star talent with elite edge potential. He is a dual-threat player that has the tools to be dominant as a run defender and he can really get after the quarterback. Notre Dame also landed another North Carolina star in Ebenezer Ewetade, who has elite edge rushing skills. Ewetade is just scratching the surface of his full potential, but he is the kind of long, athletic, powerful edge player that can eventually develop into a game changing pass rusher.

Notre Dame really needed a strong interior class as well, and I'd argue from a pure need standpoint it was arguably an even greater need than the edge. Notre Dame needed to restock that part of the roster and this class helps with that. Landing 6-3, 305-pound Tiki Hola gives the Irish some much-needed beef up the middle. He is more than just a beefy player, he can penetrate and makes a lot of plays. Yes, Hola can play nose, but he can move around the interior of the defensive line and has the tools to be an impact run defender and he can collapse the pocket. Florida standout Elijah Golden is the perfect complement to Hola. He's 6-4, 275-pounds and has big time pass rushing potential up the middle. Golden is still raw as a prospect but he's racked up 62 tackles for loss and 24 sacks the last two seasons. He has big time tools.

Landing five-star upside players on the outside and inside makes this a special defensive line class. It was a home run class for Al Washington and if this can become a regular thing the Irish defense has a chance to become the envy of the college football world.

LINEBACKER

Grade: B-
Signee: Jakobe Clapper, Thomas Davis Jr.

It wasn't a strong year nationally at linebacker but Notre Dame still found two really solid football players. Thomas Davis Jr. is a strong all-around player that has the frame to be a stout inside linebacker. Davis is smart, he's a quality athlete and he's physical at the point of attack. He has continued to develop in coverage and if he can add a bit more to his blitzing/pass rushing repertoire his all-around game will be complete. Ohio standout Jakobe Clapper is another strong all-around linebacker. Clapper runs very well and he's extremely physical when he arrives at the football. He can rush the passer, he shows good coverage instincts and his short-area quickness is impressive. I like his ability to play side-to-side and as he improves technically I could see his game taking off at the next level.

This group lacks the high-level skill of other positions, which is why the grade is where it is. There are some tools to work with here and this duo will get time to develop.

SAFETY

Grade: B+
Signee: Joey O'Brien, Nicholas Reddish

Notre Dame made Pennsylvania star Joey O'Brien a must-get recruit even before the focus turned to the 2026 class. O'Brien is a game changing type of recruit that could have easily been one of the top wide receiver prospects in the class. Instead, O'Brien is one of the crown jewels in what in my opinion is the best secondary class in the country. He's an extremely long and athletic player that spent much of his high school career playing cornerback. During the summer he played safety at various camps and he dominated thanks to his length and smarts, and when he makes that full transition he could be a big time player for the Irish. Thinking of a day when the secondary is dominated by O'Brien, JaDon Blair and Ethan Long should bring smiles to the faces of Irish fans.

North Carolina safety Nicholas Reddish was a bit of an unknown for me prior to his senior season. There wasn't a lot of film out there on him and he missed almost all of his junior season with a knee injury. All I knew is that Mike Mickens pushed hard to get him into the class. After seeing his senior tape you understand why Mickens wants him so much. He could play safety or Nickel for Notre Dame and his game reminds me a lot of former Irish nickel Thomas Harper. Reddish could be the next steal for Mickens.

CORNERBACK

Grade: A
Signee: Khary Adams, Ayden Pouncey, Chaston Smith

Notre Dame signed the nation's best cornerback class and I'll argue that point with anyone. This is a special class and it's the second straight season that Notre Dame signed a three-man corner class that is arguably the nation's best. The crown jewel of the class is five-star Maryland star Khary Adams. Adams has the length and ball skills that Mickens covets, and like O'Brien he could even play wide receiver for the Irish. He's a bit raw technically but the combination of length, big time speed and elite athleticism makes him a huge pickup for the Irish. Adams picked the perfect program, because Mickens has thrived coaching players like him. He has elite tools and potential.

I've always been high on Florida athlete Ayden Pouncey, but his senior season was so good that he jumped way up in my rankings. Pouncey has elite length at 6-3 and with very long arms, but he's an explosive athlete as well. He covers a ton of ground and following the them in the secondary in this class, he could play wide receiver in college as well. As a cornerback he showed big time playmaking skills as a senior, picking off seven passes and showing himself to have elite run game potential as well. The duo of Adams and Pouncey is as good of a pair to sign with Notre Dame since Mickens arrived, and that's saying something.

What makes this class so special is that it's not just Adams and Pouncey. Chas Smith gets overlooked because he committed so early, but he's an outstanding prospect as well, and there's a reason Mickens made a hard early push for him. Smith is long, smooth and he can run, but his feel for the coverage and his football IQ sets him apart. Landing this trio is as good as you will see, and there is a lot of positional flexibility in the group as well. 

OVERALL

Grade: A

Notre Dame landed elite players on the front and back end of this defensive class. That's not just my opinion. On3/Rivals also ranks both edge players, Adams and O'Brien as Top 30 overall recruits, and Pouncey is listed as a Top 100 player. There are some underrated players in the class that could become major steals as well. The Irish hit their numbers needs, they added traits that were needed in the class and of course they landed elite talent at the most important positions. Even at linebacker the Irish added a pair of quality players with starting potential. This is without a doubt a gap closing group of defenders.

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos