Notre Dame’s Miami weekend already produced a major recruiting jolt before kickoff, with the Irish landing two 2028 commitments in a span of about 15 minutes.
Top-30 defensive prospect Asa Burch got the ball rolling during his visit, then top-30 offensive prospect Zaiden Jernigan followed soon after. Both were in South Bend for the Miami game, but they didn’t wait until Saturday night to make their decisions.
Burch picked Notre Dame over Penn State and Michigan, among others. Jernigan chose Marcus Freeman’s program over Indiana, Florida and other top schools.
Burch, a 5-star edge rusher, is listed at 6-foot-3½ and 220 pounds and plays at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio. Rivals Industry Rankings has him as the No. 92 player in the 2028 class, the No. 13 edge rusher and the No. 4 player in Ohio.
He already held more than 20 scholarship offers. Along with Notre Dame, his offer list includes Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Tennessee, among others.
On the field, Burch has already shown plenty of impact. As a sophomore in 2025, he posted four sacks, two interceptions and a fumble recovery in nine games.
One of his biggest outings came against St. Vincent-St.
Mary, when he had two sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown.
This past season, he put together a bigger all-around line: 71 total tackles, 42 of them solo, plus 5 sacks, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. He averaged 7.1 tackles per game and added three quarterback hurries.
His stat line included 10 tackles and a sack against Jackson, 11 tackles against Ursuline, seven tackles and two sacks against Toledo Scott, eight tackles and a forced fumble against Cardinal Mooney, and an interception against Massillon on October 16. He also caught two passes for 13 yards on offense, according to MaxPreps.
Jernigan is a 4-star running back from Louisville High School in Louisville, Mississippi. The 5-foot-10½, 195-pound back is ranked No. 76 overall in the 2028 class, No. 2 at his position and No. 4 in Mississippi by Rivals Industry Rankings.
His production has been just as loud as his ranking. As a sophomore in 2025, Jernigan carried the ball 232 times for 1,520 yards and 20 touchdowns in 13 games, averaging 6.6 yards per carry and 116.9 rushing yards per game.
He also caught 17 passes for 185 yards and four scores, finishing with 1,705 yards from scrimmage and 24 offensive touchdowns. He had six 100-yard rushing games and a long run of 84 yards.
This season, he has taken another step forward. Jernigan has rushed 145 times for 1,386 yards and 22 touchdowns, averaging 9.6 yards per carry and 138.6 rushing yards per game. He has added three catches for 29 yards, gone over 100 rushing yards in eight of 10 games, and has a season-long run of 64 yards.
In Other News...
Colin Cowherd Just Gave Notre Dame Fans New CFP Ammo
Colin Cowherds latest take on the College Football Playoff rankings gave Notre Dame fans fresh talking points, and not just because he pushed back on the Irish sitting at No. 11. He took aim at the committees decision to place Indiana at No. 4, while Notre Dame remains on the outside looking in, and argued that the gap between the two teams is not as straightforward as the rankings suggest.
Cowherd also revisited Notre Dames loss to BYU, saying the ending should be viewed through the lens of controversial officiating and the Big 12s admitted errors. He pointed to Notre Dames statistical edge over Indiana and questioned how the committee is weighing signature wins, which leaves the Irish with another public argument for why their rsum deserves a closer look. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames 2028 Class Just Added Another Intriguing Defender
Notre Dames 2028 recruiting class picked up another promising piece when linebacker Julian Bruno committed to the Fighting Irish, choosing South Bend over Stanford and other programs. Bruno adds to a quick run of momentum for the class, becoming the third player to pledge to Notre Dame in two days as the staff continues to build early around a group that already includes names like Zaiden Jernigan and Asa Burch.
Bruno brings the kind of profile Notre Dame tends to value on and off the field, with a reputation as a strong high school defender and a high academic prospect. For a program that has long sold both development and fit, landing a player with that combination only adds to the intrigue around what the 2028 class could become as more decisions start to stack up. [Read more 🡒]
College GameDays Notre Dame Split Will Fuel Miami Debate
ESPNs College GameDay turned South Bend into the center of the college football weekend ahead of Notre Dames matchup with Miami, and the shows pick segment only added to the buzz around the game. Desmond Howard, Nick Saban, Pat McAfee, Kirk Herbstreit and guest picker Jason Sudeikis all weighed in on a slate of Week 10 games, with the Irish drawing the bulk of the support in the marquee showdown.
Four of the five panelists backed Notre Dame to handle Miami, but Howard went the other way and sided with the Hurricanes. It is the kind of split that gives a prime-time matchup a little extra edge, especially with GameDay on site and the Irish getting the kind of national attention that comes with being the featured game of the day. [Read more 🡒]