Notre Dame is already pushing into the 2028 class, and one of Charlie Partridge’s early priorities is Zylen Little.
The 6-foot-2, 290-pound defensive tackle from Carrollwood Day School in Tampa visited South Bend last month, and the conversation with Notre Dame’s defensive line coach appears to have left an impression. Little said Partridge laid out a clear vision for what the two could build together.
“He just told me, ‘Man, we could do a lot of serious damage together if you come here.'”
That pitch seems to have landed with the 4-star lineman, who is drawing heavy attention as one of the top young defenders in the country. Rivals Industry Rankings list Little as the No. 155 player in the 2028 class, the No. 15 player at his position, and the No. 20 player in Florida.
Notre Dame is hardly alone in the chase. Little’s offer sheet already includes Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Missouri, NC State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburgh, SMU, South Florida, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulane, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, among others.
Auburn is one of the schools that could end up in direct competition with the Irish. Little visited there this spring and said the trip stood out because of the time he spent with the staff.
“What stood out to me about this visit was getting to pick the brains of the coaches in depth,” Little told Auburn On SI. “I got to meet all of the coaches, the D-line coach, Coach Vontrell (King-Williams).
I got to see Coach (Alex) Golesh, chop it up with him. So just seeing the mindset, seeing how I could fit, was something that really stood out to me.”
Indiana is another program in the mix after hosting him in April, and Notre Dame would prefer not to get dragged into a recruiting fight with Curt Cignetti.
The interest makes sense. Little has been producing since his first year of high school.
In 2025, as a sophomore, he posted 61 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, one pass breakup and 3 forced fumbles in 13 games. As a freshman in 2024, he finished with 29 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and one fumble recovery.
Notre Dame has already gotten Little on campus once, and the next step is obvious: bring him back again and keep building on the momentum Partridge created. For now, the Irish have reason to believe that message hit home.
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