Five-star Notre Dame commit isn’t shy about letting top Fighting Irish target know which school he shouldn’t end up with

It was a clever response from Dunham, who playfully threw shade at the “We are” saying we frequently hear from Penn State fandom. O’Brien has been a key target for Notre Dame for some time now, and Dunham is now putting his energy into helping recruit a top class. He has been big in that department since committing to the Irish back on April 10.

Since very early on in the process, Dunham was a player that Notre Dame has viewed as a major priority. For people that hyperfocus on star ratings, you’ll love the most recent news for Dunham. On the On3 Consensus ranking, Dunham currently sits as a five-star player and the No. 13 overall player in the 2026 class.

Dunham is considered to be at least a consensus four-star recruit by every major recruiting platform, and is nearly a top-50 overall player by each service as well. 247Sports is also especially high on Dunham, currently ranked as the No. 15 overall player and No. 2 EDGE in the 2026 recruiting class. That ranking also has Dunham pegged as the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina, one that has been very good to the Irish recently. 

There is a long list of outstanding programs that pushed for Dunham before he committed. The 6-4, 228-pound defensive end currently holds offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Texas, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Florida State among many others.

As a junior, Dunham was able to record 29 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five sacks, 16 quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, and a blocked kick for his high school. Dunham is also a tremendous baseball player for Myers Park, and could explore options to play both on the next level potentially.