Notre Dame’s push in the 2028 class may not have fully taken off yet, but the Irish already have one intriguing name circling the board: Kajus Muralis.
The 3-star offensive tackle has made it clear that Notre Dame means something to him beyond just another offer. In a conversation with Rivals’ Kyle Kelly, Muralis said the Irish were the school he dreamed about growing up.
“Back then, if you asked me if I could choose a school,” Muralis told the Rivals’ analyst. “ That school would be Notre Dame. So, it’s shocking to me that I actually got an offer from there.”
That kind of reaction tells you plenty about where Notre Dame sits with him. After turning in a strong performance at the Irish’s second evaluation camp, Muralis earned the offer from Marcus Freeman and his staff, turning a childhood wish into something real.
Muralis is a 6-foot-7, 255-pound offensive tackle from Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, Illinois, and he fits neatly into Notre Dame’s renewed effort to build a stronger presence in the state. The Irish have spent the last few years going well beyond the border to stack elite recruiting classes, but now Freeman and his staff are trying to tighten their grip closer to home.
His offer also reflects how much his stock is climbing. Rivals Industry Rankings lists Muralis as the No. 654 player in the 2028 class, the No. 50 offensive tackle and the No. 18 player in Illinois. 247Sports has not yet ranked him.
Notre Dame isn’t alone in the chase. Muralis also holds offers from Akron, Florida Atlantic, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Purdue, Toledo, UCLA and Wisconsin, and more are likely to come once he moves into his junior season and the fall and winter recruiting cycles pick up.
For Notre Dame, though, Muralis is a useful measuring stick in Illinois. The state has not been an easy place to dominate, with Illinois and Nebraska already having their own pipelines. But Freeman’s program has done more recruiting damage there than Brian Kelly’s ever did, and landing a player who grew up wanting Notre Dame could be a strong sign that the Irish are making real headway.
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