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On3's No. 1 2026 CB RJ Sermons includes Notre Dame football in top 10

Kyle Kellyby: Kyle Kelly11/19/24ByKyleKelly
RJ Sermons
Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High 2026 CB RJ Sermons visited Notre Dame for the Florida State game Nov. 9, 2024. (Kyle Kelly/Blue & Gold)

The Notre Dame football program still has the attention of one of the nation’s elite 2026 cornerbacks. On Tuesday, Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) High four-star recruit RJ Sermons, On3’s No. 11 overall player and No. 1 cornerback in the high school junior class, included the Fighting Irish in his top 10 schools list.

According to On3 national recruiting/transfer portal reporter Hayes Fawcett, the 6-foot, 180-pound Sermons is also still considering Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Penn State, Oregon, Southern Cal, Texas A&M, UCLA and Washington.

Sermons, also On3’s No. 3 prospect in California in 2026, is less than two weeks removed from unofficially visiting Notre Dame for the second time. He attended the Florida State game Nov. 9.

“Notre Dame is really high for me right now and this visit solidified that,” Sermons told On3 director of recruiting Chad Simmons on Nov. 10. “They have been recruiting me pretty hard and I feel good about them. They are constantly trending upwards for me.”

Where Notre Dame stands in elite CB RJ Sermons’ recruitment

In addition to Notre Dame, Sermons has unofficially visited Oregon (Sept. 7), Southern Cal (Sept. 28 and Nov. 16) and Washington (Oct. 5) this season. He’s also been to each of those schools at least one other time, including Texas A&M, which he unofficially visited March 30. His first trip to South Bend was for spring practice April 13.

Sermons has reported six visits to see the nearby Trojans, which is more than any other school. He is the son of former USC running back Rodney Sermons, who played for the program from 1994-97.

Before narrowing his recruitment to 10 schools, Sermons also reported scholarship offers from Tennessee, Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, Louisville, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Utah, Michigan State, Syracuse, Texas, California, Illinois and Missouri.

According to the On3 Industry Ranking —  a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — Sermons is the No. 32 overall player, No. 2 cornerback nationally and No. 5 prospect in California in the 2026 class.

Sermons is the highest-ranked 2026 prospect to visit Notre Dame this season. The Irish have three commitments in the class. However, they are still searching for their first defensive back.

In six charted games during his junior season, Sermons had 34 tackles (21 solo), 1 for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup and 1 blocked punt. He is also an outstanding track athlete, running the 100-meter dash in 10.48 seconds.

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