Notre Dame Suffers Recruiting Loss to Old Rival

Notre Dame football has seen a slight uptick in putting together the 2027 recruiting class of late, but hit a bit of a speed bump on Monday.

That afternoon, tight end prospect Cooper Terwilliger of South Dakota announced his commitment to Penn State.

Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame were never seen as a favorite to land the Pierre (T. F. Riggs), South Dakota product, but the Irish had offered and hosted him previously.

The four-star prospect (Rivals) chose Penn State out of 34 programs to offer him, including the likes of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and others.

What Now for Notre Dame at Tight End?

Notre Dame has nine commitments in the 2027 recruiting class currently, but nothing yet at tight end.

While Terwilliger wasn't a favorite to land at Notre Dame, there was some hope to get in the running once they were able to get him on campus. However, the attention now turns, or perhaps zones in on a couple of guys who have been long time Fighting Irish targets.

Jaxon Dollar Recruiting Profile

6-5, 222-pounds, Denver (East Lincoln), North Carolina

Notre Dame has had great success recruititng the state of North Carolina in recent years and are looking to make another splash there this time around.

Jaxon Dollar is viewed as one of the nation's top tight ends and is knocking on the door of being a five-star player according to 247Sports.

He's rated as the second best tight end nationally by the outlet, and has offers from nearly 40 programs currently.

He's very much the pass-catching type right now that will need to work on his blocking at the next level, but if Notre Dame is able to land him, he'll provide a big target for the offense.

Dollar was on campus last October to watch Notre Dame dismantle USC in person.

Malik Howard Recruiting Profile

6-3.5", 231-pounds, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Howard is a top 10 tight end in the cycle and is high on Notre Dame, but the Irish will have to pull off the always difficult task of taking a player from the heart of SEC country, when several SEC programs are in hot pursuit.

Howard hauled in 53 receptions for 778 yards (14.7 yards per catch), and 11 touchdowns as a high school junior.

Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas A&M are all listed as contenders for Howard, while Notre Dame and Miami outside of the SEC are right there as well.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

It's not panic time by any means at tight end, but it feels a bit surprising to see Notre Dame be a bit slow to get a commitment at the position.

Notre Dame traditionally has as good of tight ends as anyone, and that has taken a bit of a hit of late.

However, if that means being able to put together the type of classes Notre Dame has been able to do the last couple of years, it can be one of those things that comes with the territory, and isn't necessarily a bad thing.