Chat Transcript: What instant-impact players might emerge from Notre Dame’s 2026 recruiting class?

Eric Hansen: Welcome to the final Notre Dame Football Live Chat before training camp starts next Thursday.

A short preamble of programming notes first, and then we’ll roll into the chat …

► On July 1, Tyler James and I made the move to the On3 network and blueandgold.com and joined some amazing teammates. I believe this will be a great move for us and for our subscribers. I’m thrilled to tell you that the chats will continue under our new banner. We’ll still be intermittent through July, but weekly starting the second week of training camp and then throughout the football season. Camp starts next Thursday.

Our partnership with WSBT-TV, our YouTube content and my radio work with WSBT 960 will all continue. As far as Blue & Gold, I encourage you to take a test drive — a seven-day trial for a $1 for all our great content and that around the expanded On3 Network.

► If you missed the last episode of our aspiring-to-be-viral Notre Dame Football YouTube show, Football Never Sleeps, what are you doing with your life? Seriously, the show keeps its shelf life long after the live presentation, so you can catch up now or later on our YouTube channel. We’ll be back next week, Monday at 7 p.m. ET, for another presentation of Football Never Sleeps with Tyler James co-hosting with me. And check out some great shows on the Blue & Gold YouTube channel as well.

► Some of you who followed us over from Inside ND Sports want some help navigating the home page. The stories move through the carousel really quickly, so if you have trouble finding one of the stories I’ve referenced, you can find all of my content using this link: https://www.on3.com/user/erichansen/
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► Finally at WSBT Sports Radio 960, we’re rolling through a newsy Notre Dame offseason. My new radio partner is Sean Stires, and we’ll be together every Friday, starting today on Weekday SportsBeat (960 AM, live streaming at wsbtradio.com). The weekday shows run from 5-6 p.m. ET. You can download all episodes as podcasts. I’ll also be part of the pregame shows. More details to come.

That wasn’t as brief as I had hoped … anyway, as far as this week’s chat …

PLEASE include your name and hometown along with your question(s). If you submit one as “guest”, I’m going to need to see some ID to make sure that’s your given name.

Eric Hansen: Those typically have been the rules, but the “no drinking” and “no bare feet” rules are not in play today (except for me). So, kick off your shoes and sip on what you’d like.

And off we go …

Addison Cowling from South Bend, Ind.: How many instant impact players do you see from the 2026 class, if any?

Eric Hansen: Hi Addison. That question is harder to answer in this era, because of the larger amount of roster turnover you have with the transfer portal. Let’s assume who might reasonably be coming back, because to answer your question, it’s not just about talent. It’s where talent meets opportunity. Otherwise, I’d put CB Khary Adams and S Joey O’Brien and the running backs and maybe an O-lineman or two on the list. So, working with the framework of ahead-of-the-curve talent and opportunity, I’d say the best bets at this point would be WR Kaydon Finley and maybe some of the other WRs as well, TE Ian Premer, both of the ends — Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade. An interior DL like Tiki Hola or Elijah Golden if they get him might be in play as well.

Frank from Royse City, Texas: Eric, does ND have a backup plan if they don’t land Elijah Golden?

Eric Hansen: Hi Frank, I consulted with Kyle Kelly for a couple of phone-a-friend lifelines today. I encourage you to read his stuff. He’s all over this one. But to answer your question, Notre Dame is cautiously optimistic that the Irish will land the DT from Sarasota, Fla., on his new commitment date of Aug. 9. So, they’ve not invested a lot in a backup plan. If that fell through, they could persue players committed elsewhere or the transfer portal.

Skip from Houston: This is weird. I saw today that Teddy Jarrard was listed as a 3-star and also considered the No. 2 quarterback in the 2027 class – both cannot be true (factual) – what gives?

Eric Hansen: Hi Skip, not everyone looks at a prospect and sees the same thing. So, evaluations are subjective, not objectively factual. What I will say is I trust the Rivals/On3 ranking (the No. 2 QB), not just because that’s my affiliation, but because I know that all those evaluators saw him at the Rivals national camp in June and I know how deep and how thorough those evals are. I’m not sure ESPN is as far along in its evals and they don’t have the same resources. I also know that Tyler James saw him in person at the Rivals camp and came away very impressed. Same with longtime analyst Tom Lemming, who saw Teddy Jarrard in January and gave him four-stars-plus. I actually did a story with Lemming on some historical perspective on the Jarrard commitment: Putting Notre Dame’s QB recruiting roll, and where it could lead, into historical perspective … I recommend that you check it out.

Tom F from Kennesaw, Ga.: Hey Eric, great news out of Kennesaw yesterday!!! Looks like Marie and I and any other Chatters in the Atlanta area will have to go see some North Cobb Warriors games. I sure hope that Teddy develops into the talented player that everyone projects. A couple of questions/comments: the Freeman coaching staff seems to be able to do a real good job at evaluating high school players, in many instances before other schools jump on the bandwagon.  What are some of the key elements that go into that evaluation process?? 2) In years past, it seemed that ND did better and was more successful when not much was expected of them. But, when hopes were the highest heading into a season was when we struggled the most. Please tell us why this year will be different and that all the preseason hype is not setting us up for a letdown. There is a lot of talent along the OL, but this unit will not have played together very much and the DL’s of Miami and A&M are among the best in college FB. Go Irish!!!!!!

Eric Hansen: Hi Tom. Yes, I’m counting on some scouting reports from you and Marie regarding the new 2027 quarterback commit from your neck of the woods. To your questions … 1) The short answer that will fit in this chat format is being thorough. That’s both for high school and transfer portal additions. For instance Notre Dame football director of scouting Matt Jansen has already started to build a data base of potential portal pickups that will be added to, refined and then pared down throughout the season. For high school kids, general manager Mike Martin and director of recruiting Carter Auman and the “front office” staff do a great job of getting ahead of the curve.

But a lot of it is being thorough and leaving no stone unturned. Most of the assistants will check out a reliable tip, even if it’s inconvenient. ND also tried to get kids on campus to be evaluated during their June camps. And the eval process continues even when a kid has committed, because sometimes they level off. That doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.

To your second question, I tried to fly through some research and hopefully my math is on point, but of the 28 preseason AP polls in the post-Lou Holtz Era (next one is Aug. 11), Notre Dame has performed as expected seven times, better than projected eight times and worse 13 times. However, lately it’s been trending in the “better” category more often, including last year when ND started No. 7 and finished No. 2. Why I think they’ll be a playoff team, in short, is culture, depth, defense, coaching and I do believe the QB position will turn into an asset.

Phil from Napoleon, Ohio: What young receiver will play a bigger role? Is there someone no one is really talking about?

Eric Hansen: Hey Phil. So let’s start with who’s NOT young that will likely be in a six-man rotation, give or take … grad transfers Malachi Fields and Will Pauling and juniors Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison. So among the true freshmen and redshirt freshman, I think there are four realistic options in play … Elijah Burress, Logan Saldate, Micah Gilbert and Cam Williams. Bettis and Richardson are longer-term projects. Of the four I mentioned (and redshirt soph KK Smith is in play too), Micah Gilbert feels like a solid pick for the rotation. Burress would seem like the best best for No. 6, but I am playing a hunch with Cam Williams, and we’ll soon see if that gut feeling was intuitive or just a bad taco that didn’t agree with me.

Bo Johnson: With Teddy Jarrad’s commitment what’s the chance of some other ’27 recruits committing to ND before their HS season starts? And who’s your top 2 picks?  Trying not to make it to hard to answer! Forgot to mention I’m from Michiana.  Grew up in Osceola, lived in the area my whole life and currently residing in Edwardsburg. IYKYK.

Eric Hansen: Hey Bo, I was smart enough to use my lifeline for this question too. So, Kyle Kelly told me he wouldn’t be surprised if at least one — and perhaps two —2027 prospects joined the Irish class by the start of their high school season or just shortly after the start. Three-star DT Deven Robertson from Hattiesburg, Miss., and four-star RB Amir Brown from Rolesville, N.C., would be two names to follow over the next month or so in that regard. Kyle had a good intel piece with more names this morning that’s worth checking out: Intel: Notre Dame pushing for more 2027 talent after landing QB Teddy Jarrard commitment

Ryan from Frankfort Illinois: Good afternoon Eric. Will Chris Terek be ready for camp GO IRISH ☘️☘️☘️🏈🏈🏈

Eric Hansen: Hi Ryan. It is the expectation that Chris Terek will be ready for camp and trying to push his way up the depth chart into a backup role at one of the offensive guard spots.

Brian K from South Bend: Hi Eric!!!! Will you remain on WSBT Radio Weekday SportsBeat now that Darin Pritchett has moved on?  I sure hope so, or this listener is moving on as the content of the show has dropped off the charts since he left.  Also, I know this is not necessarily in your wheelhouse, but Darin’s final day show with special guests he indicated during last Thursday’s show is NOT available on the WSBT Radio website and also is NOT available on the WSBT Radio podcast feed.  If there is anything you know or can share I’d appreciate it.  I feel like I missed the closing of his show and would like to listen to Friday’s show if possible. Now onto ND questions…with Fall camp less than one week away, what is your biggest concern surrounding the team (coaching, position X/Y/Z, etc.) that will lead to success or failure of the 2025 season? Thanks for your amazing insight, and I’m excited to follow you over from Inside ND Sports to Blue & Gold.

Eric Hansen: Hi Brian. Thanks for the compliments and for following us over to BlueandGold.com. I will miss working with Darin. We had a lot of fun. As I rambled in my opening stuff ahead of the questions, I WILL be joining Sean Stires on Fridays at 5 ET starting today and each week moving forward. I’m also going to be part of the pregame shows this season, but I think the station wants to announce the lineup and particulars for that first, so I better defer to them for now. I have worked with Sean before when he was at WSBT previously and really enjoyed that. I am looking forward to doing so this season. … I will look into the whereabouts of the Friday show. If you can shoot me an email, I’ll let you know what I find out.

Len from the Jersey Shore: Hello Eric! Thanks for hosting. Recruiting for ND has been spectacular.  Hope it continues and gets strengthened further by another awesome season. I noticed that all four O linemen that transferred are slated to start this season. Spindler at Nebraska, Coogan at Indiana (I will miss those two guys-real gamers & team players), Pendleton at Tennessee and Chan at UConn. Other projected starters are Colzie at Miami Ohio and Angeli at Syracuse. I saw other transfers who are in the rotation, Thomas at Virginia and Mickey at Boise State, Urlacher at USC. Besides the recruiting hum around the Irish doesn’t the depth charts of transfers, although preliminary,  also show the strength of ND’s  recruiting and player development? I remember more transfers going elsewhere and sitting in previous years. Your thoughts are appreciated.

Eric Hansen: Hi Len!!! You were light on the exclamation points today. … Thanks for the info and the interesting question. I do think there are two things in play in your question, and I do think ND’s evaluations and development model contribute to the large number of transfers fitting in and moving toward the top of other teams’ depth charts. But to be fair, I also think the caliber of transfers is higher than say 10 years ago when you mostly had disgruntled players transferring. A lot of players moving around in this era, due to NIL and no-waiting transferring, are pretty darn gruntled. So star players move on … like incoming transfers such as Malachi Fields, for instance.

Marie from Atlanta: Hey Eric, I know you must be extremely busy this week especially with practice starting next week so extra big thank you for hosting the chat. I would like your thoughts on the recent statement by “ google me” Cignetti about dropping Virginia from the schedule and replacing them with Kennesaw State. I know he’s concerned about making the playoffs, but Virginia  should be a power 4  win for them and frankly not even a good one. Would they have even made the playoffs this past year if they wouldn’t have dropped Louisville from the schedule? That leads to my question, do you think down the road weather conferences exist or there’s just one big football conference that we may see a scheduling czar, who works to assure that schedules for all teams are balanced. Additionally, he/she could dictate that more games be  played between conferences so we could actually get an idea of which conference is the strongest.  I find it hard to believe that the No. 8 team in the Big Ten is anywhere near the level of the No. 8 team in the SEC though Tony Pettiti  would want you to believe that. The czar could dictate that on certain weekends play between the conferences had to happen mimicking what they do at the beginning of basketball season. Changing gears, besides the quarterback battle, what are the two main things you’ll be looking at in the first practice? What will be assigned to Tyler to look at? Finally, what are your thoughts on Lincoln Riley‘s comments about the USC-Notre Dame rivalry? Thanks again for hosting, can’t wait to read your impressions from the first practice.

Eric Hansen: Hi Marie. Super busy and loving every minute of it. Thanks for your questions. My hope is that a strength-of-schedule incentive will be built into the new formula of who gets in and who does not for the CFPs in 2026 and beyond. I think that will make the issue self-correcting if it does. I do NOT think this is headed for a more uniform/unified/centralized conclusion regarding college sports, though I’ve seen columns about why people might want to see that. I think college sports is moving in the other direction, more decentralized decisions. And I think there are actually some legal incentives that would support decentralization. So, no scheduling czar. You might try making fun of the people who schedule too many cupcakes, but I’m not sure the IU coach would take it to heart.

Besides the QB battle, the two things I’m most curious to see would be the 14 June additions (two transfers, 12 freshmen) and the players coming back from injury like Ashton Craig, etc. No. 2 … because they won’t be in pads and not likely in many or maybe any competitive periods on day 1, just looking at comparative speed and players who have changed their bodies since the spring. Stuff like that. I would imagine Tyler will look at the same. We usually look at everything then divide up what we’re going to write about afterwards. Our other teammates will be there too. … Thoughts on Lincoln Riley? If I were a USC alum/donor, I would cringe.

Bo Johnson: From Michiana, and just wanted to say thanks for the response. I’m all caught up on B&G articles…..GO IRISH

Eric Hansen: Really appreciate that, Bo. And I hope you notice I resisted using the old pun from the Bo Jackson commercials … “Bo Knows”

Mike Fitz from Sparks, Md.: Impact on California recruiting if USC bails? Do we try and do a series with UCLA? ROSE BOWL is the belle of the Ball (no pun).

Eric Hansen: Hey Mike I’m going to give you some numbers first for context and then give you your answer. First the numbers. These are the top 10 stats from the 2010-25 recruiting cycles that have produced the most ND signees in the Brian Kelly/Marcus Freeman Eras:
California 34
Florida 34
Ohio 32
Illinois 26
Indiana 26
Texas 21
New Jersey 19
Georgia 19
North Carolina 17
Pennsylvania 14

So, California is important. But ND is big in Florida without playing in the state EVERY year. And maybe what you suggest, a series with UCLA for home and home here or there, maybe Cal. Stanford is still in play. And maybe a Shamrock Series game out there. So I think in this day and age, intermittent presence would likely be enough, but I’m with Marcus Freeman. I’d like to see ND-USC continue on an annual basis for scads of reasons.

Pararescue: Would you consider doing a segment on projecting who on the team will play on Sundays? We can then keep track and see how good you are at evaluating.  It would replace the blue chip percentage and give a much clearer idea of just how potentially good the Irish can be. I remember watching the 2012 disaster against ’Bama thinking lots more of them would play on Sundays. Thanks

Eric Hansen: Pararescue, did you combine your name and hometown into one? … I think that’s a great roundtable discussion, so maybe I could tap into some of my teammates and we could come up with some lists that you can either point and laugh at or marvel at our insight. … As far as that 2012 team, maybe not high draft choices universally, but probably more draft choices than you think. Five of the 11 offensive starters on that 2012 team eventually were NFL Draft picks. On defense it was 8 of 11. And one of the three who wasn’t, Matthias Farley, had a long NFL career and was a starter in 2017 for the Colts and in 2021 for the Titans.

Len from the Jersey Shore: Eric,  Great point on caliber of transfers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric Hansen: OK Len!!!!!!!!!!!! Unless Manny shows up today, I think you’re going to take the punctuation cake! Thanks.

Ryan from Cincinnati: Hi Eric, two questions and I’ll make it simple.  1. Will the season opener break the attendance record for Miami? 2. What is your way to early prediction for that game? I got ND 31-21. GO IRISH!

Eric Hansen: Ryan, they are not going to break the Miami record for a game in that facility. The capacity of the stadium is smaller than when the record of 76.968 vs. Florida was set in 2013. ND and Alabama set a facility record (when it was known as Sun Life Stadium) in the BCS National Championship Game in January of that year (80,120). Capacity currently is at 65,325. … Question 2 is harder. I am just doing deep dives into opponents now for my preseason AP poll ballot. Wouldn’t have a clue for a score yet, but I do think ND will win. Sorry Ryan, that I was a party pooper on that. I am not a way-too-early kind of guy when it comes to scores.

Guest: Which player do you think is most jazzed/happy/pumped about how the summer workouts went?
Eric Hansen: Guest!!! Can I see some ID you really are named “Guest”? OK, I’ll answer you this time. …. My answer is TE Eli Raridon. I’m all in on him this year.

Peter: How many of the DB commitments will stick if Mike Mickens leaves for a promotion?

Eric Hansen: Peter, that is difficult to answer in a vacuum. 1) If DNs coach Mike Mickens would leave, would it be before signing day? Probably not. 2) Some kids are signing contracts now, no long letters-of-intent, so while they could back out post-signing day, it might be stickier and less desirable to do so. 3) Who would be the successor? Marcus Freeman replaced a really good running backs coach in Deland McCullough this past offseason with a wow hire in Ja’Juan Seider. … on top of all that, Marcus Freeman makes sure HE has a relationship with recruits. And Chris Ash factors in as well.

John from Chatham, NJ: Hey Eric- congrats on move to On3. Best of luck. My statement- ND has not had this amount of respect/high expectations across fanbase, media, recruits, and opponents since 1993? My question- how much transparency is seeping through on player pay by school, position, etc?

Eric Hansen: Hi John, and thank you! To your question, a question of my own … seeping through to whom? From school to school? To the media? From agent to agent? I did a piece with Dave Peloquin, a longtime member of Notre Dame’s football staff who’s now in the college agent business. Here’s the story: Peeking into the new revenue-share world of college football with Athletes First’s Dave Peloquin … and here’s an excerpt that might help answer your question:

“It’s the unique part of college compared to the NFL, where you can see all the contracts. You can see what the market rate is. Everybody can kind of track it. Here’s what quarterbacks are making in the NFL. Well, college, it’s a little different, because these contracts are, as of right now, are probably mostly private and or aren’t like released.

“And so then you’re trying to help families and players kind of figure out: What is the market value for, again, starting left tackle at Power 4? What’s a slot receiver going to make as well as then you kind of see what high school kids are coming in the door and what value they have based on their rankings. So, it’s a very, very fluid and interesting space.”

Bob from Oxnard, Calif.: Hi Eric, How has joining Blue & Gold changed what you and Tyler do? Does being part of a big and talented team allow you guys to dive more in depth on particular aspects of the team/sport?

Eric Hansen: Hi Bob. I’m almost a month into it and am loving the experience. I don’t want to drone on and on, but it starts at the top with Shannon Terry‘s leadership as the CEO for On3, his business model and his vision. There are many more resources and great teammates. So to more specifically answer your question (and I’ll let Tyler speak for himself), it’s allowed me to get back into the lane that I feel is my strength, which is deeper analyses and columns, reconnecting more with former players and national media figures, just doing more compelling content that we didn’t have as much time for with a smaller staff. And I really enjoy learning stuff and interacting with my new teammates.

Bo Johnson: Eric, I’ve gotten that my whole business career, “Bo Knows” as the go to guy, thanks to ND!  I trust you guys to “know” what I don’t know, the inside to Notre Dame football recruiting.!

Eric Hansen: Awesome, Bo. Thanks for the follow-up!

David from Boston: Hi Eric – Thanks for the chats! Golden’s recruitment seems to have hit a bit of a snag. If not him, does ND have an appetite to explore other DL options? Or would they be happy with the class they have. I hope they pull this one out, but realize these don’t typically go ND’s way.

Eric Hansen: Hi David, I think you sent this before I had spit out an answer to an earlier, similar question. To recap, Notre Dame is cautiously optimistic.

Bo Johnson: from Michiana: What are you grilling this weekend?

Eric Hansen: If I had time, it would be beer brats. But I have commitments that will make grilling impossible this weekend. Unless of course, it’s at your house!

Eric Hansen: OK, that’s going to do it for this week. There will NOT be a chat next week because we’ll be in conflict with training camp access and interview opportunities. However, let’s pencil one in for Thursday, Aug. 7 and then settle into a weekly Wednesday routine starting on Aug. 13. Thanks for all the great questions today. Talk to you on the 7th.

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