(EDITORS NOTE: caption correction) Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Notre Dame Pursuing Nation’s No. 1 RB — Despite Penn State Commitment

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 29, 2025 10:06 AM ET

Notre Dame received a big commitment for the 2027 recruiting class last week when quarterback Teddy Jarrard announced his decision to play for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish.

Now, Marcus Freeman and company are aiming for one of the nation's top running backs in the 2027 class, and a current Penn State commitment.

Running back Kemon Spell, a five-star recruit and the nation's ninth overall player according to the 247Sports composite rankings, plans to visit Notre Dame this fall despite that Penn State commitment. He'll also visit Florida State and Alabama as well as Penn State.

2027 Penn State 5-star RB commit Kemon Spell has set four visits this fall, per @RyanSnyderOn3✈️

Spell is the No. 1 RB in the 2027 class.

Read: https://t.co/8gThZS0tBL pic.twitter.com/9IbcuApX3L
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 28, 2025

Notre Dame has recruited and developed running backs as well as nearly anyone in the country in the last couple of years and is set to have one of the nation's top backfields in 2025.

Notre Dame-Penn State Rivalry Red Hot

Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Notre Dame and Penn State both hold significant historical places in college football. The two former rivals met annually from 1981 to 1992, but Penn State's move to the Big Ten ended that series.

The two met in last season's Orange Bowl for the first time since 2007, and ever since Nittany Lions head coach tried to "little brother" Marcus Freeman, the gloves have seemingly been off between the two.

Franklin hasn't been able to stop himself from talking about Notre Dame, doing so yet again last week, and Freeman and his staff have won several head-to-head recruiting battles with Penn State since.

The recruitment of Spell will be yet another of those, as Spell hails from McKeesport, Pennsylvania, located in the heart of Penn State territory, right outside Pittsburgh.

It may be a Cold War for the most part on the field, but Spell's recruitment will be another chapter in the Notre Dame-Penn State rivalry off it.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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