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Notre Dame's elite 2026 class now features pair of Top-10 running backs

hunterby:Hunter Shelton•05/14/25•

HunterShelton_

Jonaz Walton, Marcus Freeman, Javian Osborne
Notre Dame has secured commitments from two elite 2026 class running backs: Central (Ga.) Carrollton's Jonaz Walton (left) and Forney (Texas) High's Javian Osborne (right).

Notre Dame continues to put together an elite recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. On Wednesday, it landed another blue-chip commitment.

Carrollton (Ga.) Central four-star running back Jonaz Walton announced on the On3 Recruits YouTube channel that he’s pledged to the Fighting Irish. Head coach Marcus Freeman and ND beat out Alabama, Florida, Stanford and Tennessee.

With Walton, the No. 10 RB in the 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, now in the fold, Notre Dame has two of the nation’s top burners committed ahead of the summer.

On May 3, Forney (Texas) four-star RB Javian Osborne committed to the Irish over Michigan. The 5-foot-9, 195-pounder is the No. 112 recruit and No. 8 running back this cycle.

The pair help headline a class that now features 16 total commits and ranks No. 4 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. Nine top-200 overall prospects are pledged to the Irish, as of May 14.

More on the touted RB duo of Osborne and Walton

Osborne’s recruitment was hotly contested between Notre Dame and Michigan. The Wolverines were first to trend in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, but as his commitment date neared, Osborne continued to have great things to say about the Irish. Notre Dame picked up the momentum and then landed his pledge.

“The people there,” Osborne told On3 about why he chose ND. “I feel like the people around campus and what Notre Dame has in the locker room, they have great people that have great mindsets. When you walk around campus you see that everybody has their head on straight. It’s a different level of college.”

As a junior, Osborne ran for over 1,000 yards on more than 150 carries. He logged 21 touchdowns on the feet and also caught a trio of TDs for Forney, per MaxPreps.

Notre Dame was able to get Walton in the fold before a string of official visits next month. Just before he set his commitment date, Walton was visited by Irish RBs coach Ja’Juan Seider. He’s been to South Bend multiple times this season and is now also locked in.

“The whole place is exactly what I want in a place and where I want to be,” Walton told On3. “It ranges from the people to the location to the coaches, everything is what I want in a university … so essentially Notre Dame in its entirety made it right for me.”

Walton has crushed competition at the high school level. Acquiring more than 60 touchdowns across three seasons, he’s rushed for more than 4,700 yards in his prep career and is coming off a junior campaign that featured 18 scores and over 2,000 total yards.