Notre Dame football is creating a ton of great early recruiting momentum during a crucial official visitor weekend.
Notre Dame football is in the middle of its first major official visitor weekend of the offseason. With an impressive group of 2027 recruits on campus in South Bend, head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish are hoping to land a few commitments in the future from the talented crop of visitors.
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While the visit isn’t even over yet, there is a lot of buzz swirling around 2027 Chicago (Ill.) Brother Rice defensive tackle Brayden Parks, a player who has been a priority for Freeman and defensive line coach Charlie Partridge for a long time. 247 Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn just put in a crystal ball for Parks to land with the Fighting Irish. With Parks still having an official visit to Oregon on the horizon, it would be ideal for Notre Dame to try and close this weekend.
Heading into the visit, this felt like a 50/50 battle between the Fighting Irish and Ducks. While I was skeptical, it’s probably best to stop doubting Freeman and Co. in these official visit settings. If Dohn is correct in this prediction, this would be a massive addition for potentially a historic defensive line class.
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DT Brayden Parks – Chicago (Ill.) Brother Rice
This recruitment has been going back and forth between Notre Dame and Oregon over the last several months. On the surface, this feels like a no-brainer for the Irish, but we will see if they can close the deal. I’d put this recruitment as a 50/50 coin flip right now.
Prediction: Notre Dame
Based on early feedback, the good news isn’t going to stop if Parks does choose the Irish. There appears to be much more positive momentum coming for the Irish staff.
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Brayden Parks’ recruiting background
Parks is considered to be a four-star player by each of the major recruiting platforms right now. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Parks currently sits as the No. 192 overall player and No. 25 defensive lineman in the 2027 recruiting class. He is also pegged as the No. 10 player in the state of Illinois, a very important area for the Irish. 247 Sports is actually the highest on Parks right now, sitting as the No. 162 overall player on their individual ranking.
The offer list for Parks is even more impressive than his recruiting rankings. Some of the top programs that have offered Parks includes the Fighting Irish, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Michigan, LSU, Ole Miss, Penn State, USC, Miami, Auburn, Nebraska, Michigan State, Indiana, Kansas State, Iowa, Illinois, Washington, Arkansas, Arizona State, Iowa State, Minnesota, UNC, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, and Kansas, among several others.
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The 6-3, 305-pound defensive tackle was a tremendous player for Brother Rice as a junior in 2025. In 13 games that he played in, Parks managed to record 44 total tackles, six tackles for loss, and two sacks. His impact is a lot greater than the box score might suggest, possessing an impressive blend of size, power, and movement skills. It is hard to miss big No. 98 on the field for Brother Rice.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Notre Dame football is predicted to land a priority defensive recruit in the middle of a critical OV weekend
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