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Newsstand: Notre Dame going after NFL legacy recruits again in class of 2026

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•06/17/25•

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davis fitzgerald finley
Notre Dame linebacker commit Thomas Davis Jr. and wide receiver commits Devin Fitzgerald and Kaydon Finley. (Photo courtesy of Kaydon Finley/IG)

Notre Dame has had great success with the sons of NFL players under Marcus Freeman, from Joe Alt to Benjamin Morrison to Howard Cross III to Bryce Young and several others. In the class of 2026, the Irish are at it again.

Freeman has already secured a commitment from Thomas Davis Jr., a four-star linebacker out of North Carolina and the son of longtime Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis Sr. The Davises made the trip to South Bend for Davis Jr.’s official visit this past weekend, alongside two other legacy recruits.

Four-star wide receivers Devin Fitzgerald and Kaydon Finley were also in attendance. Finley is the son of former Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, while Fitzgerald is the son of all-time great Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

The three NFL legacies took a photo together, alongside their dads, during Sunday’s photoshoot.

Notre Dame has already landed Davis, while Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer has logged predictions for the Irish to secure the services of both Fitzgerald and Finley.

Both Freeman and the NFL legacy players who came through South Bend have explained that their families understand that football has to end one day better than others, which is why they’re drawn to Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Tweets of the day

Not all news this weekend has been good for the Irish.

This is good news for the Irish, though.

As is this.

Quote of the day

“As long as we can [remain independent], we will. I got a lot of confidence in our administration and Pete Bevacqua, our AD, that he’ll always keep us in a position to be successful. So as long as we can keep that independence, we will.

“But if there ever comes a time we are at a disadvantage because we are not in a conference, I’m sure [Bevacqua will] make the decision, along with our president, to say, ‘Alright. We’re going to join one of these conferences and position ourselves to not be negatively impacted by being independent.’”

— Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, via Big Noon Conversations with Fox Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt

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