When Notre Dame reached the national championship game at the end of the 2012 season, the Irish used that momentum to land an elite 2013 recruiting class that included Fort Wayne native Jaylon Smith and ranked No. 5 nationally by 247 Sports.

After reaching the national title game this past season, Notre Dame under coach Marcus Freeman capitalized once again on the positive feeling from that run. The result is a 27-player 2026 recruiting class that is even better than the 2013 version, ranked No. 3 nationally by 247 Sports and No. 2 by Rivals/On3.

It is the best Notre Dame class in the recruiting rankings era, which dates to about 2000. Three members of the class are consensus five-star recruits: Defensive end Rodney Dunham (No. 8 player nationally, per 247), tight end Ian Premer (No. 21)

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