Notre Dame is hoping for some good news from a long-time Fighting Irish recruiting target on Monday.
Notre Dame football is busy putting together an elite 2027 recruiting class, and there might not be a position that ends up being better than the offensive line. Head coach Marcus Freeman
, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph
, and the Fighting Irish landed multiple commitments this week up front.
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That includes elite Jersey City (NJ) St. Peter's Prep offensive tackle Oluwasemilore Olubobola
, as well as flipping West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade standout Jackson Hill
from UCLA. It appears that a lot more good news is just on the horizon. This Irish staff is rolling right now.
With Olubobola, Hill, James Halter
, and Richie Flanigan
in the class, Notre Dame's offensive line target board has shrunk down to two key targets. One of them is 2026 Middletown (Delaware) Appoquinimink four-star offensive tackle Layton von Brandt
, a player the Irish staff has been in a great position with for quite some time. They are just a few days away from hopefully closing the deal.
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There was some great news on the von Brandt front this weekend when it was announced that he will be making his commitment on Monday at 9 AM Eastern time on the Rivals YouTube channel. The talented offensive tackle will be selecting between Notre Dame, Florida, Penn State, and Auburn. There is no question that the Fighting Irish are the perceived leader going into that decision.
If Notre Dame does land von Brandt on Monday, all eyes will turn to five-star Lake Charles (La.) Sam Houston offensive lineman Albert Simien
. The Irish are in a good spot for Simien, battling against LSU and Texas A&M for his services. If the Irish are able to somehow close the deal on Simien, it would become the program's best offensive line haul in a very, very long time.
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Layton von Brandt's recruiting background
Von Brandt is considered a four-star player by all major recruiting platforms and a near-consensus top-100 player by each. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Von Brandt ranks as a top-70 player, sitting at No. 64 overall, the No. 5 offensive tackle, and the No. 1 in the state of Delaware for the 2027 recruiting class. That is not a traditional area for Notre Dame to target, but Von Brandt is just that good and could be bordering on five-star status in the end.
Even before Von Brandt committed to the Nittany Lions in November of 2025, there was a long list of impressive suitors pursuing the talented offensive lineman.
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The 6-6.5, 281-pound offensive tackle has an extremely impressive offer list. When you turn on his film, it is easy to see why.
Some of the top schools that have offered him include the Fighting Irish, Penn State, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Missouri, Auburn, Indiana, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Boston College, Virginia, UNC, Stanford, Syracuse, and Rutgers, among several others.
