Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates after winning the first round of the College Football Playoff 27-17 against Indiana at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame Recruiting Shakeup: Rivals Makes Big Changes to Rankings

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Mason Plummer | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 3:47 PM ET

Notre Dame has put together what appears to be one of its best recruiting classes in years for the 2026 cycle.

Each summer, player rankings from the various recruiting outlets are updated based on player performance, growth, and plenty else. Those rankings updates from recruiting services almost always come with ups and downs for individual schools. It's part of the business that if recruits move up in the rankings, some have to move down.

One thing you can always predict is that fans are going to be upset about rankings.

It is rare for a recruiting update to be so positive for a specific school, especially Notre Dame, but that was the case with the July 14 Rivals update. It is no secret that the Fighting Irish are recruiting at an extremely high level, but to see it reflected in the recruiting rankings is always great for fans and recruits alike.

Rivals updated its rankings today, and Notre Dame has SIX top-50 players‼️

EDGE Rodney Dunham No. 7 ➡️ No. 6
OT Grayson McKeogh No. 181 ➡️ No. 13 ()
EDGE Ebenexer Ewetade No. 28 ➡️ No. 20
TE Ian Premer No. 24 ➡️ No. 26
CB Khary Adams No. 34 ➡️ No. 30
ATH Joey O'Brien No. 99 ➡️… pic.twitter.com/Pn9OEcpTQc
— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) July 14, 2025

The jumps of that entire group above are impressive, especially that of offensive lineman Grayson McKeogh and defensive back Joey O'Brien. The Notre Dame staff feels as if it has two five-star talents in McKeogh and O'Brien, who are also high school teammates, and the Rivals/On3 rankings seem to agree.

All in all, Notre Dame usually claims one, maybe two recruits in the top 50 of a given recruiting service. Having six in the Rivals top 50 is ridiculous and should have Fighting Irish fans even more excited for this class moving forward, especially considering its still not complete.

With this latest update, it feels crazy to say, but it is easily possible that Notre Dame finishes this 2026 recruiting cycle with two, maybe even three industry five-stars.

Marcus Freeman is cooking on the recruiting trail.

Impressive 2026 defensive tackle Elijah Golden is a player who can easily work his way into the top-50. He is set to make his commitment on July 26, with Notre Dame liking its chances to land him as much as anyone.

Along with Golden, defensive back Ayden Pouncey and wide receiver Kaydon Finley are still underrated and could see their stock fly up their rankings with strong senior campaigns.

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

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