Notre Dame lands a commitment from explosive 4-star RB Jonaz Walton

Carrollton (Ga.) Central On300 running back Jonaz Walton is headed to Notre Dame.

The blue-chipper chose the Irish over Alabama, Florida, Stanford and Tennessee among others. Walton becomes commit No. 16 for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish in the 2026 recruiting class.

“The whole place is exactly what I want in a place and where I want to be,” Walton said. “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.”

The On3 Industry tabs Walton as the nation’s No. 10 running back and No. 132 prospect overall. He adds to a class the On3 Industry previously ranked No. 4 nationally.

“What makes them so special is the way they are trending right now,” Walton said. “They’ve always been a great team that produces amazing running backs.”

In 12 games as a junior Walton used his 10.6 speed in the 100m dash to rush for 1,387 yards and 14 touchdowns. He added another 646 yards receiving and four more scores.

Throughout his prep career Walton has averaged over eight yards per carry in gaining 4,714 yards and scoring 56 touchdowns. He is the second top-10 running back to commit to Notre Dame in 2026 joining the No. 8 player at the position Javian Osborne.

Walton visited South Bend twice this calendar year.

“I love the campus a lot,” Walton said. “The coaches and people there are amazing. Also I love the atmosphere and prestige of being there.”

Running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider finished as the lead recruiter for Walton and he can’t wait to play under Freeman.

“One thing that I find interesting that stands out about Coach Freeman is that he reminds me a lot of my head coach now, Coach Brown. Also the way you can tell he believes in his players and that they believe in him as well. As you could see last year ND is building something special, and their recruiting class in 2026 is one more example that this is true.”