The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will aim to deliver two stunners on Saturday. One involves knocking off top-ranked Miami in South Bend. The other involves coach Marcus Freeman and his staff swiping a five-star talent away from one power.
Miami fans can breathe out some relief, as ND isn’t attempting to siphon one of its blue chip commits for the 2027 class.
However, this traditional SEC power is now on high alert. As a prominent five-star recruit will wear the recruiting lanyard inside Notre Dame Stadium for the heavyweight showdown between ND and “The U.”
Who Will Visit for Notre Dame Clash
Rivals recruiting insider Chad Simmons revealed the intel on Friday. Notre Dame is presented with a brand new chance to win over a past blue chip recruit Freeman and company previously went after on the recruiting trail.
“Notre Dame came extremely close to landing five-star linebacker Kaden Henderson when he committed to Texas A&M during the summer. Now Marcus Freeman and his staff have another opportunity,” Simmons wrote.
That’s right, the Jesuit High of Tampa talent is flying in for the heavyweight Saturday showdown. And has Aggie fans on pins and needles with ND now attempting the recruiting swipe.
Determining if Notre Dame is Trending up Here
Simmons added more to the reported visit going down for the evening contest. Adding how Henderson “has remained strong” in his commitment to Texas A&M including attending every home game.
“But Notre Dame has never stopped recruiting him,” Simmons said. “The Irish were right there when Henderson made his original decision. The relationships, academics and Freeman’s leadership have kept Notre Dame in the picture.”
Lastly, Simmons concluded that “Notre Dame is a legitimate threat” to pull off the huge recruiting coup.
It helps ND that Freeman’s area of expertise is linebackers, having coached the position before and playing LB at Ohio State. So Freeman earns a chance to re-sell the Fighting Irish vision to Henderson. Which in turn can become the biggest recruiting flip during the fourth quarter of the 2026 recruiting cycle.
Other Notable Notre Dame Visitors for Miami Contest
Henderson surfaces as the headlining guest representing the 2027 class in South Bend. He’ll take in ESPN College GameDay and then, the home crowd inside the iconic Fighting Irish venue.
But he’s not the only notable star recruit coming here per 247Sports. This next visitor will grab the attention of Hurricane fans.
Four-star running back from The Bolles School in Jacksonville Xander Edwards is visiting as well. Edwards is considered a strong lean towards Miami for the 2028 class. Yet ND will aim to coax him to come over. The Fighting Irish likely will present how their program produced two first round running backs in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price for the 2026 NFL Draft class to help persuade Edwards.
Even the son of a past NFL star is coming, as five-star wide receiver Jaylen Addai (son of Super Bowl XLI champion with the Indianapolis Colts Joseph Addai) is a planned visitor as well. Addai is coming all the way from Pearland, Texas.
Notre Dame ‘a Legitimate Threat’ to Flip 5-Star Prospect During Miami Game