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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman jogs the field during warm ups before a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Northern Illinois at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024, in South Bend. Michael Clubb / USA TODAY NETWORK

Recruiting Shock: Notre Dame Loses 2 Elite Recruits to Michigan

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Mason Plummer | Last updated Jun 11, 2025 4:52 PM ET

For those of us that follow recruiting closely, it is a constant game of ebbs and flows. You win some and you lose some, however some losses are much easier to stomach than others.

Regardless of your individual feelings towards Michigan, losing recruits to them is never a good feeling. It is an especially bad feeling when two top targets go off the board to the Wolverines and the Fighting Irish likely finished 2nd for both.

To quote Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, "If you ain't first, you're last."

There are no consolation prizes in recruiting.

This past week, Notre Dame lost out on two top defensive line targets, McHale Blade and Alister Vallejo. There is no way around it, both Blade and Vallejo have the ability to be great players at the next level and Notre Dame wanted both of them in South Bend.

There was no "Notre Dame cooled on him" here, like you will see other school's media put out when they lose out on a target. The Fighting Irish staff grew to be frustrated with the recruitment of Blade and the tactics used against them for Vallejo, but their desire to land both targets never waivered.

BREAKING: Class of 2026 DL Alister Vallejo has Committed to Michigan, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’3 310 DL from Liberty Hill, TX chose the Wolverines over Kansas & Notre Dame

“Michigan felt like home. I’m all in—Go Blue!"https://t.co/jvTgfxR5gu pic.twitter.com/YjguBE1SW2
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 10, 2025

BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE McHale Blade has Committed to Michigan, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’5 245 EDGE from Chicago, IL chose the Wolverines over USC & Notre Dame

“Thank you God, I’m home
GO BLUE!”https://t.co/ad7M5s69rW pic.twitter.com/GGALd0Lre5
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 9, 2025

Notre Dame was high on Blade as an edge rusher, while it saw Vallejo as being an impact defensive tackle in South Bend. In past years, the loss of these two, especially in quick succession, would have been a massive recruiting hit.

However, the Fighting Irish staff has recruited tremendously in 2026 and along the defensive line in particular. Five-star edge rusher Rodney Dunham, four-star edge rusher Ebenezer Ewetade and defensive tackle Tiki Hola are standouts in an exciting '26 cycle.

The losses of Blade and Vallejo are setbacks, but with exciting prospects still on the board such as Elijah Golden, Dre Quinn and Noah Clark, Notre Dame is still in a great spot to round out the defensive line class in a strong way.

Lastly, before you are bamboozled into thinking Michigan is "dominating" the Fighting Irish on the trail like Twitter/X will make you think they are, check out the head-to-head recruiting battles just this cycle that Notre Dame has beaten Michigan on.

DE Rodney Dunham
RB Javian Osborne
SAF Ayden Pouncey
OL Gregory Patrick
OL Sullivan Garvin
OL Tyler Merrill

And many more.

Michigan got their two, shoutout to them.

Notre Dame has gotten the prior 10-plus.

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

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