Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman, assistants visit 2025 WR Jerome Bettis Jr.

Coaches are out on the recruiting trail in January, and the staff at Notre Dame is no exception. Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and members of his staff visited Atlanta Woodward Academy three-star wide receiver Jerome Bettis Jr. and his parents on Thursday.

Wide receivers coach Mike Brown, cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock joined Freeman on the trip.

The Notre Dame staff made it to Woodward Academy in Atlanta today to visit with 2025 WR target Jerome Bettis Jr. and his parents. 🚌

Mike Brown, Marcus Freeman, Mike Mickens and Mike Denbrock made the stop.https://t.co/Un4B7ooXOq pic.twitter.com/uQ62zZqiBL

— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) January 25, 2024

Bettis Jr. is the nation’s No. 555 overall prospect and No. 86 wide receiver in the 2025 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking — a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 57 recruit in Georgia.

Jerome Bettis Jr. is the son of former Notre Dame running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis Sr. Bettis Jr. has taken a number of visits to Notre Dame, including last weekend. He spoke to Blue & Gold about the visit.

“It was great getting to meet him in person and talk about how he sees me fitting in with the offense,” Bettis said of Brown. “He’s a great coach, and I can tell that he’s an even better guy.

“I got a chance to talk with Coach Denbrock briefly, and his main message was that he’s excited to have me and can’t wait to get this thing going.”

A number of Notre Dame’s 2025 commits were in South Bend for the weekend.

“It was great getting to see them again,” Bettis said of the Irish commits. “I talk with them regularly, and we were excited to be back there together again.”

Notre Dame leads country in total 2025 commitments

Marcus Freeman’s staff may be off to the hottest start in the country for the 2025 recruiting class. Fourteen pledges are five more than any other program in the cycle. Lucedale (Miss.) George County four-star quarterback Deuce Knight is the No. 5 QB in the class and headlines the Irish’s class.

Additional blue-chip commits include Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange four-star safety Ivan Taylor, Chicago Simeon four-star EDGE Christopher Burgess, Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame De La Baie Academy four-star tight end James Flanigan, Highland Home (Ala.) four-star EDGE C.J. May, Tampa Jesuit four-star running back Justin Thurman, Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall four-star offensive tackle Will Black and Phoenix Brophy College Preparatory four-star cornerback Cree Thomas.