Notre Dame football eying to steal dynamic 2026 playmaker right out of the Oklahoma Sooners' backyard

You don’t often see Notre Dame included in a top schools list when they have never visited a program before. We did see that with 2026 Norman (Okla.) North wide receiver Mason James, who included the Fighting Irish in his top seven schools list. They were joined by Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arizona State, Washington, and Kansas State.

With that nice early standing, James now gets his first looks at South Bend this week. The Oklahoma star is on a multi-day visit that began today, and will run through Thursday. Wide receiver coach Mike Brown will need to impress James in order to solidify a return official visit. Getting him away from the Sooners won’t be easy, but we will know how much more likely it is after this week.

James is one of the more talented wide receivers in the 2026 recruiting class. He is rated as the No. 174 overall player and No. 29 wide receiver in the class according to the On3 Industry ranking. James is also pegged as the top player in the state of Oklahoma on that ranking.

The 5-11, 170-pound pass catcher has accumulated a very impressive offer list so far. Some of the prominent programs who have pursued James include the Fighting Irish, Alabama, Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Ole Miss, Penn State, Miami, Florida, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Washington, Michigan State, Arizona, Kentucky, Arkansas, SMU, Baylor, Kansas State, Kansas, Cal, and Purdue among others.

In 12 games as a junior, James put together a tremendous season for Norman North. James hauled in 56 receptions for 1,233 yards and 17 touchdowns. That’s an average of over 22 yards per reception.

Notre Dame needs to find more wide receivers who can create big plays. That’s one of James’ biggest sells as a football player. Wide receiver recruiting has been an issue up until this point, but that could change with some successful visits this spring and summer.