Photo by The Irish Tribune
It's no secret that this coming weekend for Notre Dame will be huge in terms of recruiting. In fact. one source I spoke to said that "it will be a massive weekend and a pivotal one for the future of recruiting and Notre Dame football." The list of future talent that will be in attendance for this game is filled with talent from top to bottom. With many high-profile talent visiting such as C/O 2025 4-star LB Nathaniel Osuwu-Boateng, C/O 2025 4-star DL Jalen Wiggins (currently committed to Florida), C/O 2025 4-star TE Andrew Olesh (currently committed to Michigan), C/O 2026 4-star LB Thomas Davis Jr., C/O 2026 4-star LB Tank King, C/O 2026 4-star WR Connor Salmin, and C/O 2026 4-star Edge Simote Katoanga, among others.
As you can, see the talent that will be present for this game is some of the best in the country, but the headliner has yet to be mentioned. Several media outlets were hinting that a certain blue-chip WR would be present for the game. I was able to confirm through a source that Derek Meadows would be present for the Florida State game. The Irish Tribune broke the story in a previous article on Saturday evening.
Irish fans across the country are very familiar with the name Derek Meadows, after Notre Dame lost out on the highly touted WR when he committed to LSU back in July of this year. But that didn't stop Notre Dame from pursuing him. and they have kept constant communication with Meadows which has proved to pay off; as he'll be visiting Notre Dame instead of LSU, who will be hosting Alabama at home. Getting Meadows (a 4-star WR who is ranked No. 47 nationally and the No. 7 best WR in the country) back on campus is a huge win, and a true testament to what Marcus Freeman, Chad Bowden, and the rest of the staff have done in the recruiting office. Will they be able to flip him? Only time will tell, but they've never given up on the pursuit to land him.
Notre Dame will also be hosting multiple commits to help fill out an already star-studded cast of visitors. C/O 2026 4-star QB Noah Grubbs, C/O 2025 3-star S Brandon Logan, C/O 2025 4-star WR Elijah Burress, C/O 2025 4-star WR Antavious Richardson, and C/O 2025 4-star RB Justin Thurman have all been confirmed as visitors for the big weekend.
With such a big weekend ahead and all the buzz surrounding it, I was interested to hear what some of the recruits and commits were saying. I caught up with several of them to see what they were looking forward to most about the visit and the excitement surrounding it.
For C/O 2026 4-star QB Noah Grubbs, it's a bit personal when it comes to Florida State, and he cant wait to watch Notre Dame beat them. He's also very excited to be back around the coaches that have always believed in him.
"I’m excited to be back home this Saturday to watch ND beat my home state team that missed out on recruiting me. This is my second time back this season, and it means a lot to have one of my brothers traveling with me, along with my QB trainer Baylin Trujillo, and my parents. I'm also very excited to be back around the coaches who have believed in me from day one. I look forward to representing the ND program in less than 14 months!"
For C/O 2026 4-star LB Tank King, the excitement to watch them play at home was something he didn't want to miss. After being in attendance for the first game against Texas A&M, he wants to witness the Irish home game atmosphere and a chance to see all the coaches as well.
"I'm ready to be on campus to see the home game atmosphere because I watched them play away vs. A&M and it was electric. I'm looking forward to seeing Coach Freeman, Coach Golden, Coach Max, Carter Auman, and getting to catch up with the team. I'm excited to see how the LBs have progressed since the A&M game. Also, I want to sit down with more players to see from them how ND is as a school overall. But I'm very excited to be back up there. I always say ND is family because they really are."
C/O 2025 3-star WR Antwaun Parham (currently committed to Tulane) was recently offered by the Irish, so I was curious to see what that offer meant for him.
"Getting the offer from ND meant the world to me. I have been following the program for a while and to finally receive the offer helped solidify that my hard work and grinding is paying off."
Shortly after receiving an offer from Notre Dame, Antwaun scheduled a visit for the Florida State game. So what is he looking forward to most?
"I'm looking forward to the intensity of the game day atmosphere at Notre Dame. I'm also looking forward to seeing how I would fit in with the team, the University, and the coaches."
What is Parham looking for when it comes to his recruitment?
"I’m looking for the best situation that can prepare me for the next level, get a degree that can change my life for the future, and make my dream to play in the league a reality."
C/O 2026 4-star DE Simote Katoanga is excited to witness the game day experience, as he visited this past summer, but this will be his first fall visit for a game.
"I can’t wait to experience game day in South Bend! I visited during the summer, but I'm excited to see what Notre Dame is like in the fall. What I look forward to the most about the trip is being able to watch a live game at the historic stadium and see all the coaches and staff!"
And C/O 2026 4-star WR Connor Salmin is excited to get back to campus for game day and to see the coaches again.
"I'm excited to get back, to see the coaches again, and to experience the game day environment at Notre Dame."
The buzz for next weekend is at an all-time high, with many big-name commits and recruits coming to town. I was told by a source that Notre Dame will be rolling out the red carpet and pulling out all the stops next weekend in hopes of landing some of this highly touted talent. This coming recruiting weekend will be massive for the future of Notre Dame football, and all eyes will be watching when the Irish take on Florida State to continue their goal of being a playoff team. To make this a perfect weekend, they not only have to win over the recruits, but they also must win on the field.
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