Notre Dame football has a legacy recruit that the team has decided not to pursue. Is the Fighting Irish staff right or wrong?
Notre Dame football has been riding a ton of recruiting momentum recently, and that doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Head coach Marcus Freeman has completely changed the expectations on the recruiting trail for the Fighting Irish, and for the better. A part of that equation has been betting on athletic DNA, and gravitating towards the sons of former Notre Dame and NFL players.
That formula has landed the Irish the likes of Bryce Young , James Flanigan , Jerome Bettis Jr. , Devin Fitzgerald , and Kaydon Finley over the last several years. Based on that ideology, you would think that 2028 Jacksonville (Fla.) The Bolles School running back Xander Edwards would be an incredibly easy sell. From a production, recruiting rankings, and Notre Dame lineage perspective, he seemingly checks every box.
For whatever reason, Edwards is just not a player that the Irish staff has shown much interest in, up until now, anyway. It has been a puzzling recruitment so far.
If that last name doesn't sound familiar, Xander is the son of former Irish star fullback Marc Edwards . The older Edwards played with the team from 1993 to 1996. During that stretch with Notre Dame, Edwards managed to rush for 1,591 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also hauled in another 46 receptions for 598 yards and five scores.
Edwards was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft . He spent nine years in the NFL with the 49ers, Cleveland Browns , New England Patriots , Jacksonville Jaguars , and Chicago Bears . It appears that those jeans have certainly been passed on to Xander.
Now a legitimate recruit himself, the younger Edwards is beginning to generate a ton of college interest, and he is really blowing up this offseason. The 6-2, 215-pound runner was a notable performer for the Bolles School as just a freshman two years ago. In 12 games, Edwards rushed for 558 yards and eight touchdowns, an average of 7.2 yards per carry. He added 46 yards on four receptions as a receiver as well.
Now the featured back for Bolles School this past season, Edwards put together a historic run in 2025. During that sophomore campaign, the talented runner exploded for 2,629 yards and 44 touchdowns on just 265 carries, an average of just under 10 yards per carry. Edwards also hauled in another 17 receptions for 211 yards through the air.
Due to that superb play, Edwards has been pulling in a long list of new offers. Some of the schools that have offered so far include Florida , Miami, Penn State , Florida State , Louisville , UCLA , Illinois , Indiana, Wisconsin , Georgia Tech , Arkansas , Vanderbilt, Baylor, Pittsburgh, SMU, West Virginia , Wake Forest, and Syracuse, among several others.
Edwards has also seen his recruiting rankings due to that elite 2025 season. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the Florida standout is ranked as a four-star, the No. 117 overall player, the No. 7 running back, and the No. 17 player from the state of Florida for the 2028 recruiting class. He is rated as a four-star and top-150 overall player by each of the major recruiting platforms now.
Why Notre Dame has shown such little interest in Edwards has been a bit of a head scratcher to me. This isn't just a legacy recruit getting a free pass based upon his dad. Edwards just broke Derrick Henry's single game rushing record as a sophomore. His offer list, rankings, production, and game film are what a difference maker looks like at the running back position.
Perhaps the Irish staff eventually circles back on Edwards and decides to push for him, but at this point, they might be too late. With schools like Miami pushing so hard, some big-time programs have been making Edwards feel like a priority player. Notre Dame has opted to prioritze other running backs, and it'll be interesting to see whether they were right or wrong for doing so.
For me, however, Edwards just feels like such an easy sell for a Notre Dame backfield that continues to churn out some outstanding talent. This whole process and evaluation feels like a mistake, but only time will tell whether I was correct in my criticism.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Notre Dame football could be making a massive mistake with its handling of a top recruit with Fighting Irish ties
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