Recruiting analyst says the Notre Dame Fighting Irish might have just landed a 'major steal'

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish made a solid addition to their 2026 recruiting class earlier this month by landing a commitment from four-star edge rusher Ebenezer Ewetade. 

Ewetade, 6-foot-4/221 lbs from Garner, NC, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 27 edge in the nation and the No. 15 player in the state of North Carolina. 

Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney wrote this week that he thinks Ewetade could be a "major steal" for the Fighting Irish. 

"Ebenezer Ewetade has only been playing football for two years and already he is one of the more impressive-looking defensive end prospects in this class," noted Gorney. "Notre Dame landed his commitment over the weekend and it could be a major steal for the Irish as he gets coached up over the next few years."

"On film, Ewetade has a phenomenal get-off and he can also beat offensive tackles inside and outside," added Gorney. "As he develops more physically – and in Notre Dame’s vaunted defense – those physical tools could make him really special in this class."

As Gorney pointed out, Ewetade has only been playing football for a couple of years (he was actually cut from his seventh grade team, which is just a small part of his impressive story, something that was recently detailed by 247Sports' Bryan Ault). The talented edge rusher initially wanted to play wide receiver, but he was converted to edge rusher at Garner High School. 

"I said 'If you're rushing the passer, I can see a place for you in certain situations (on varsity)," said Ewetade's high school coach, Greg Greene, to 247Sports. "'If you play receiver you're definitely a JV kid.' He definitely cried. He shed some silent tears of frustration. After awhile, he saw an opportunity to go up for varsity. To his credit he just committed himself to the process of becoming what he is now. He's not a really talkative kid, he's quiet, but he does have a mean streak to him."

It sounds like Ewetade is just scratching the surface of his talent. If he puts it all together at Notre Dame, he could quickly emerge as one of the top pass rushers in the nation.