Notre Dame’s 52-0 demolition of Rice did more than keep the Irish perched in the Top 5. It may have helped them take a serious step toward landing one of the best offensive line prospects still on the board.
On Sunday morning, On3 analyst Steve Wiltfong highlighted several visitors who were in South Bend to watch the Fighting Irish roll. The name that stood out was Wyatt VanBoening, a 4-star offensive tackle in the 2028 recruiting class who appears to have come away especially impressed.
VanBoening is a 6-foot-7, 280-pound lineman from Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois. Notre Dame’s game-day performance gave him plenty to think about, and this wasn’t some quick first look.
The visit was his fourth trip to South Bend. He first came on March 25 this spring, returned a month later, came back again on June 16, and was back once more on Saturday.
Being from nearby Illinois has made it easier for VanBoening to keep getting back to campus, and the repeated visits suggest Notre Dame has been making a real impression. According to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, he is the No. 80 player in the 2028 class, the No. 11 offensive tackle, and the No. 7 player in Illinois.
Notre Dame is in strong position, but the fight is far from over. VanBoening has also reported offers from Auburn, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, and Wisconsin. His recruitment has kept growing during his junior season, with Michigan among the more recent power programs to jump in after he visited Ann Arbor for the Wolverines’ 2026 season opener.
That said, the trip to South Bend may have set a different tone. Wiltfong’s read is that Notre Dame made a major move here, and the Irish now have a chance to turn that momentum into a commitment if Marcus Freeman and his staff keep pressing while the window is hot.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Finally Looked Like The Team Fans Were Waiting For
Notre Dames home opener against Rice was the kind of performance that had been missing in the early part of the season, a clean, commanding statement in a 52-0 win that never really gave the visitors a chance to breathe. The Irish were sharp from the opening series, with quarterback CJ Carr settling in quickly and the rest of the roster following suit in a game that looked more like the standard Notre Dame had been trying to establish than the stumble fans had been waiting to shake off.
Carrs efficiency set the tone, while safety Adon Shuler and wide receiver Jordan Faison both turned in notable performances in a rout that showed how complete this team can look when it is in sync. The bigger question now is whether this was the one-off release fans needed to see or the first sign that Notre Dame has finally found the version of itself it was supposed to bring into the fall. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Suddenly In The No. 1 Debate After Week 2
Week 2 delivered the kind of shakeup that can redraw the entire AP Top 25, with Texas knocking off No. 1 Ohio State late and leaving the top of the poll suddenly up for grabs. The ripple effects go well beyond Columbus, because the national conversation now has to sort through a crowded group of contenders, with Notre Dame and Georgia both in the mix as the rankings get rebuilt after a chaotic Saturday.
For the Irish, that puts a clean opening-week performance in a much brighter spotlight than it had before. Other contenders are still trying to survive the fallout from losses of their own, including Oregon and Oklahoma, which only adds to the uncertainty at the top. However the voters sort it out, Notre Dame has unexpectedly landed in the middle of the No. 1 debate, and the next set of rankings will say plenty about how much weight the Irishs start carried. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Defense Just Gave Irish Fans A Reason To Dream
Notre Dames home opener gave Irish fans exactly the kind of defensive showing they were hoping to see. In a shutout of Rice, the unit controlled the line of scrimmage, held the Owls to just 64 rushing yards and forced four turnovers, all while showing enough depth and aggression to keep the pressure on even with key players sidelined.
Bryce Young was especially disruptive in the middle, finishing with 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack as Notre Dames front repeatedly collapsed Rices plans before they could get going. It was the sort of complete effort that does more than fill a box score, because it suggests the Irish may have the pieces to lean on this defense as the season starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]