Meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish class of 2027 commitments

Get to know the class of 2027 prospects committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in this feature from Blue & Gold.

See below for background on each of the commits (listed in chronological order from newest to oldest). This article will be updated each time Notre Dame lands a new commitment.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic OL James Halter

Height: 6-5
Weight: 268
Commitment date: Oct. 22, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 154 overall, No. 8 IOL and No. 7 player in Pennsylvania

The four-star prospect earned an offer from Notre Dame the weekend of his visit for the Texas A&M vs. Irish game in Sept. 2025, and it was clear that ND would be hard to beat in his recruitment. He’s the son of former Notre Dame offensive lineman Jordan Halter (1989-93), who played under legendary O-line coach Joe Moore. While in South Bend to see Notre Dame knock off USC, Halter informed the Irish staff of his commitment and announced it a few days later.

Halter chose Notre Dame over 18 other Power Four scholarship offers, including Ohio State, Penn State and North Carolina.

Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame De La Baie Academy DL Richie Flanigan

Height: 6-3
Weight: 280
Commitment date: Sept. 25, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 40 DL and No. 4 player in Wisconsin

As the younger brother of current Fighting Irish tight end James Flanigan and son of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Jim Flanigan, it was always expected that Richie would continue the family tradition. Blue & Gold predicted him to pick Notre Dame six months before he eventually chose the Irish over Michigan, Wisconsin and others. But the Irish staff put in the work to land Flanigan, and he knew he wanted to call South Bend home after visiting for the Texas A&M game back on Sept. 13.

Flanigan is listed by Rivals as an interior offensive lineman, but he’s expected to start out on the defensive line. During his state championship-winning season in 2024, Flanigan primarily played defensive tackle and right guard. Defensively, he recorded 35 tackles (14 solo), including 2 stops for loss and a sack. He was the only sophomore to earn a spot on the all-conference second team.

Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb QB Teddy Jarrard

Height: 6-3
Weight: 196
Commitment date: July 24, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 78 OVR, No. 5 QB and No. 9 player in Georgia

Notre Dame landed its quarterback of the future prior to his junior season, and the staff did so rather easily. The Irish didn’t offer any signal-callers until June 2025 (and only offered two) and quickly built a connection with Jarrard. He visited campus in early June, got his offer a couple weeks later and didn’t take long to decide on Notre Dame. Jarrard committed to the Irish over Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State.

During his sophomore season in 2024, Jarrard threw for 2,783 yards and 34 touchdowns with a 72 percent completion percentage. He was named the Georgia High School Association Region 7-AA offensive player of the year and to the 2024 All-Cobb County first-team offense. He had a strong freshman campaign as well, completing 153 of 260 passes for 2,065 yards with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Recruit Georgia listed him as a 2023 Class 2A All-State honorable mention.

Jarrard played his first two high school seasons at North Cobb Christian, a Georgia Class 2A school, but transferred to North Cobb, a class 6A program, for his junior campaign.

Mobile (Ala.) Williamson LB Ellis McGaskin

Height: 5-11.5
Weight: 210
Commitment date: June 30, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 223 OVR, No. 13 LB and No. 7 player in Alabama

Notre Dame is typically good for a surprise commitment from a prospect in the South, and McGaskin’s pledge fits the bill. He stood out at the staff’s Irish Invasion camp in June, and by the end of the month, he announced his pledge to ND. McGaskin held offers from more than 20 Power Four programs, including Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

As a sophomore, McGaskin delivered an impressive stat line, recording 130 tackles (64 solo), 21 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 9 quarterback hurries, 4 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery in nine games. He was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association first-team all-state and First-Team All-Coastal in 2024. He was also Lagniappe’s 2A-5A Player Of The Year as just a sophomore.

Asheville (N.C.) Christian Academy LS Sean Kraft

Height: 6-4
Weight: 215
Commitment date: June 24, 2025
Rivals Ranking: N/A

Notre Dame takes a specialist on scholarship during most recruiting cycles, and Kraft became the first commit for the Irish in the 2027 class. Notre Dame started expressing interest in Kraft early in 2025, and special teams assistant Jesse Schmitt invited him to camp in June. Kraft worked out for Notre Dame on June 16, leading to his scholarship offer. He committed to the staff shortly thereafter. Kraft ranks as the No. 1 long snapper in the 2027 class according to Rubio Long Snapping.