The 2026 recruiting cycle has been very good to USC football thus far. The Trojans hold the No. 1 class in the country for the class of 2026, and have shown no signs of letting up on the recruiting trail anytime soon.
However, the Trojans are ninth the only school putting together an elite 2026 class. Over the weekend, USC’s archrival Notre Dame landed not one, not two, but three commits. The Irish now sit at No. 4 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings, just three spots behind USC.
Michael Chen of Fighting Irish Wire shared his thoughts on Notre Dame’s rise up the recruiting rankings.
“Typically, players are a bit pushed off by so many other players being committed at the same position,” Chen wrote. “But Notre Dame has broken that train of thought. The Irish had a massive recruiting weekend, as the 2026 class now is up to 25 total commits, while being ranked as the No. 4 overall group in the 247Sports Team Composite.”
Both USC and Notre Dame recruiting well is exciting for the future of the rivalry. Of course, however, in order for the two schools’ elite recruits to face each other on the field, the Trojans and Irish will need to reach an agreement to extend the series beyond next year, something that they have yet to do.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC rival Notre Dame is keeping pace with Trojans on the recruiting trail
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
