Notre Dame steals commit from UCLA
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Notre Dame is continuing to stack up victories on the College Football Recruiting trail. The Fighting Irish recently landed a major five-star offensive tackle, landing Oluwasemilore Olubobola over Texas A&M and Miami.
Now, Notre Dame has landed another offensive tackle for the class of 2027, stealing a UCLA recruit, according to Greg Biggins of Rivals.
High three-star offensive tackle Jackson Hill, who originally was committed to UCLA, has flipped to Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame is the only school I would have flipped from UCLA for,” Hill said. “It was a hard decision because I really love UCLA and the coaching staff. It was so hard to tell coach Hill and coach Chesney that I was making the change and going somewhere else. I have so much respect for those guys and I have no doubt they’re going to win. Coach Chesney is going to turn that program around it would have been fun to be a part of that but I had to make this move and I really feel it’s the best thing for me for what my goals are.”
While Hill is a three-star recruit, that is a lower-end recruit for a team like Notre Dame. The Irish have a five-star tackle coming in Olubobola, plus two other four-star linemen in James Halter and Richie Flanigan. Hill is the second-lowest rated recruit, ahead of long snapper Sean Kraft.
“I’m betting on myself,” Hill said. “Notre Dame only recruits four and five star offensive linemen. They recruit the best of the best and it might take a few years to get on the field but when I do play, I’m going to be ready. Coach (Joe) Rudolph is one of the best if not the best offensive line coaches in the country. Notre Dame gets guys drafted every year and that development is what I’m looking for. I know it’s going to be tough and a struggle but that’s what I want. I don’t want the easy road, you don’t get better by taking the easy path.”
If development is what Hill is looking for, the Irish may be the right place. Since 2021, seven different offensive linemen have been selected in the NFL Draft from Notre Dame, including Joe Alt being selected fifth overall in 2024.
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