Notre Dame’s push for Chicago defensive tackle Brayden Parks appears to be losing ground, and Oregon may be the team pulling ahead.
For much of the late spring and early summer, the Irish looked like a real contender for the Brother Rice High School standout. That picture has changed. On3’s Steve Wiltfong reported earlier this week that Parks might be more drawn to the Ducks than to Notre Dame.
“I believe that if it were completely up to 4-star defensive tackle Brayden Parks, the Chicagoland standout would also elect to play for Oregon. He’s also high on Notre Dame, but he seems to be even more excited about the Ducks.”
Notre Dame is still in the mix, though, and the door is not shut. Parks has not made a commitment yet, and his family could still matter in a big way. Wiltfong reported that Parks’ family likes what the Irish offer and values the chance to see him play more often because of the proximity to home.
That part of the equation has always given Notre Dame a real shot. But with fewer official visits left, the Irish seem to have lost some momentum in a recruitment that once looked more favorable.
Parks is a major target for a reason. The 6-foot-3, 305-pound defensive lineman is ranked by Rivals Industry Rankings as the No. 185 player in the 2027 class, the No. 22 defensive lineman, and the No. 10 player in Illinois.
Even with Notre Dame still involved, the competition is fierce. Parks holds offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, LSU, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Washington, and Wisconsin, among others.
The tension in this recruitment seems to center on Parks wanting to carve out his own lane. Notre Dame has long looked like the obvious fit because of the family connection, the Chicago roots, and the ties to the program.
But the obvious choice has not necessarily been the easy one. Parks appears to be weighing whether he wants to take a different route instead of settling into the place that may feel most familiar.
For now, Notre Dame is still hanging around. Whether that’s enough to beat Oregon remains the big question.
In Other News...
ACC Finally Changed The Rule Notre Dame Fans Hated Last Year
The ACC has finally moved to clean up a championship tiebreaker system that left plenty of room for frustration last season, and that matters in South Bend because Notre Dame has a front-row seat to how the league handles its title race. Head-to-head matchups still sit at the top of the chain, but the conference has also added Team Success Ranking by Sport Source Analytics as a later tiebreaker, a sign the league is trying to make the process feel more modern and more in line with how the College Football Playoff evaluates teams.
There is also a practical wrinkle built into the new setup with the conferences shifting schedule model, as the ACC will account for how many league games a team played so nobody is helped or hurt simply for landing on an eight-game or nine-game slate. The change comes after last years messy, multi-layered tiebreaker debate, and it should at least reduce the odds of another postseason argument that drags on longer than the season itself. [Read more 🡒]
Marcus Freeman Just Gave Notre Dame A Massive Portal Boost
Marcus Freeman has spent this offseason giving Notre Dame a much-needed roster jolt, and the latest wave of transfer portal additions points directly at the kind of depth the Irish need to keep climbing. Four players are set to help fill immediate needs on both sides of the ball, with defensive tackles Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu, wide receiver Quincy Porter and defensive end Keon Keeley all bringing the size, strength and experience that can matter quickly in a championship chase.
The appeal here is obvious: Notre Dame is not just adding bodies, it is targeting players who can change the feel of the roster right away. Gray and Brewu should help fortify the interior, Porter gives the offense another intriguing option, and Keeley adds another piece to the edge rotation, leaving the bigger question of how fast all four can translate that upside into production once they get to South Bend. [Read more 🡒]