National Signing Day has come and gone and while the 2025 class is not finished since there is a late signing period in February as well, most of the action happened last week.
Rivals is breaking down each Top 25 recruiting class and we continue here with No. 12 Notre Dame.
MORE FIGHTING IRISH: Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class
MORE TEAM SPOTLIGHTS: No. 1 Oregon | No. 2 Texas | No. 3 Georgia | No. 4 Ohio State | No. 5 Alabama | No. 6 LSU | No. 7 Michigan | No. 8 Auburn | No. 9 Texas A&M | No. 10 Tennessee | No. 11 Florida
NATIONAL SIGNING DAY: Grading the ACC | Grading the Big 12 | Grading the Big Ten | Grading the SEC | Gorney Awards | Winners and Losers | Who will be the team recruiting champ? | Who's left for the 2025 class? | Auburn beats Bama in-state | Ranking the top Group of Five signees | LSU's Kelly vents about NIL world | Live Blog | Announcement Guide
TRANSFER PORTAL OPENS MONDAY: Offensive transfers available | Defensive transfers available
WHAT WENT RIGHT ...
This is another Notre Dame class led by the signees in the trenches. The Irish landed elite talent on the offensive and defensive lines. Five-star offensive tackle Will Black leads the way but four-star Owen Strebig also has the look of a great tackle for the Irish. Four-star defensive lineman Chris Burgess may be a future star, too.
WHAT WENT WRONG ...
The ongoing saga with Deuce Knight was the biggest issue with the class this year. Even though it felt inevitable with the number of visits he was taking elsewhere while committed to Notre Dame, it still stung when Knight eventually flipped to Auburn. The program did quickly replace him with four-star quarterback Blake Herbert.
PARTING PREDICTION
James Flanigan will be the next great Notre Dame tight end.
Flanigan is a long and lean tight end that has plenty of room to add weight to his frame. He’s a very physical player that does not shy away from contact. You can see that during the reps as a defensive end in which he more than holds his own.
That physicality transfers over to the tight end spot where he is a very good in-line blocker. He’ll continue to refine his route running and leave Notre Dame as a fan favorite.
