Notre Dame's 2026 DL group is stacked with addition of four-star recruit

Marcus Freeman and his staff are building an extremely formidable 2026 recruiting class. According to the 247Sports Composite, it's the No. 3 class in the nation.

What that means is that the Fighting Irish won't just be contenders in 2025, but they'll be strong for the next few seasons as well. 

Specifically, they're projecting to be strong along the defensive line, because a big part of Notre Dame's 2026 recruiting success is the elite defensive line grouping the Fighting Irish are bringing in.

It was already a strong group, but over the weekend, it got even stronger. Elijah Golden, a 4-star defensive lineman from Sarasota, Florida, committed to Notre Dame on Saturday. According to 247Sports, he's the No. 16 defensive lineman in the 2026 class.

He committed to Notre Dame over Alabama, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech.

“Mainly the coaching staff is good and they rocked with [me] for a long time and the fanbase is crazy,” Golden told Steve Wiltfong of Rivals regarding his commitment. “I’d definitely say the people, the people there are good people.”

The Fighting Irish's class was already highlighted by 5-star EDGE Rodney Dunham, who is ranked as the No. 2 pass-rusher in the 2026 class. They also already boasted commitments from 4-star EDGE Ebenezer Ewetade and 4-star defensive lineman Tiki Hola. The 247Sports Composite ranks Ewetade as the No. 17 EDGE in the 2026 class. Hola is ranked as the No. 43 defensive lineman in the country.

With the addition of Golden, this is a group that looks to be extremely formidable. Notre Dame offered the four-star in the spring of 2024, and the Fighting Irish have been the favorite to land his commitment ever since. 

It took a while, but they finally reeled him in this past weekend. Especially with Alabama and Oklahoma on the outside looking in with this one, it's going to go down as a big recruiting win for the Fighting Irish. It does sound like they put in the work to develop a good relationship with Golden, though, so it's not all that surprising.

“The coaching staff stands out the most and their campus,” Golden said. “Their campus feels like home! “They have a wonderful coaching staff.”

Games are won and lost in the trenches, and Freeman and his staff have built a unit that projects to cause fits for offensive linemen for years to come.