Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets his players during a Notre Dame football spring practice at Irish Athletic Center on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame Lands Elite Tight End in Major Recruiting Win

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jun 26, 2025 5:24 PM ET

In today's modern recruiting world there aren't usually a lot of things that happen that come by total surprise.

That is not the case for what happened when Notre Dame landed commitment No. 22 in the 2026 recruiting cycle on Thursday, landing a verbal commitment from big-time tight end Ian Premer of Kansas. According to the 247Sports composite, Premer ranks as a top 50 talent for the entire class, regardless of position.

The Premer commitment comes on the heels of Notre Dame receiving five commitments since the start of last week, and just before at least one or two more are expected next. Make no qualms about it, Marcus Freeman and his Notre Dame staff are on an absolute heater on the recruiting trail right now.

It had appeared that following tight end Preston Fryzle's commitment earlier in the week, Notre Dame's chances of landing Premer had simmered. Instead, Notre Dame suddenly has one of the best tight end classes in the country.

BREAKING: Elite 2026 TE Ian Premer has Committed to Notre Dame, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’6 230 TE from Great Bend, KS chose the Fighting Irish over Iowa State, Kansas, & Kansas State

He’s ranked as a Top 25 Recruit (No. 3 TE) in the ‘26 On300https://t.co/ZZWiPvEQVg pic.twitter.com/CHJcR2X85p
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 26, 2025

Ian Premer is listed at 6-5, 220 pounds and hails from Great Bend, Kansas. He's rated as a four-star prospect by all the recruiting outlets and adds to what has somewhat quietly been a position of need for Notre Dame, specifically in this particular cycle.

Premer is also a multi-sport star who has also received a basketball scholarship offer from Kansas State, one of the perceived favorites to land his talents, along with Iowa State and Kansas. He caught 30 passes for 541 yards and eight touchdowns as a high school junior.

We will have more here at Notre Dame On SI throughout the evening following this big-time, unexpected commitment announcement.

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

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