No reason to wait while Notre Dame football recruits against Marcus Freeman

SOUTH BEND – Marcus Fakatou just finished his eighth year in Riverside, Calif., but that hasn’t stopped Notre Dame football from offering the prodigy a scholarship for the 2028 recruiting cycle.

A defensive lineman who already stands at 6-foot-2 and weighs 265 pounds, Fakatou reported the offer on social media after attending camp at Notre Dame on Monday. The offer came directly from the Irish coach Marcus Freemanwho recently explained the trend across sport to bring forward the recruitment process.

“Recruiting moved earlier,” Freeman said on May 31. “We’re looking at years 26 and 27. That’s just the nature of the recruiting cycle. It disappeared earlier and earlier.”

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Case in point: Fakatou, who reportedly grew 4 inches and 100 pounds in the last year alone, already has eight offers from high-profile college programs. USC, BYU, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington and Auburn extended their offers before Notre Dame joined what promises to be a long line of suitors.

Fakatou, who is headed to Orange (Calif.) Lutheran High School this fall, was Notre Dame’s first known offer in the 2028 recruiting class. Lutheran is the only non-Catholic school in the prestigious six-team Trinity League in Southern California. California, which includes Mater Dei, St. John Bosco, JSerra Catholic, Servite and Santa Margarita.

The Irish recently welcomed their second non-binding commitment of the 2026 recruiting class when quarterback Noah Grubbs announced in Lake Mary, Florida on June 1. At 6-4 and 205 pounds, Grubbs chose the Irish over 22 other reported offers, including Florida, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Oklahoma and Colorado.

Wide receiver Dylan Faison, younger brother of two-sport sensation Jordan Faison, previously committed to Notre Dame on March 18. Dylan Faison, a three-star football player at St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, Fla., is expected to play lacrosse for the Irish as well.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Freeman said, speaking generally. “You have to design. You have to try to create relationships from the beginning, but you also have to continually evaluate. … Since we’re recruiting now, we have to continue to evaluate — no matter what — throughout their high school career.”

The sooner Notre Dame and director of player personnel Chad Bowden can find their footing, the better the chances the Irish will be there in the end. Starting in their sophomore year, prospective signatories can set their high school class schedules to meet Notre Dame’s admissions standards.

Increasingly, this also means taking enough classes to be in a position to enroll in college mid-year, just weeks after the early signing date of this recruiting cycle. Fifteen members of Notre Dame’s signing class of 2024 signed up in January before spring practice.

Working so far in advance means that a potential client will occasionally back out of their commitment as their needs change or their profile evolves. Notre Dame, with a dozen four-star prospects among its 21 commitments, ranks second nationally in the 2025 recruiting race, behind only Ohio State in the overall projection, according to 247 Sports.

“I told our team this: I’d rather lose when we’re recruiting someone than when they actually get here,” Freeman said. “If we evaluate this young man throughout his junior and senior year and feel like he’s not going to be the right fit for Notre Dame, we have to be willing to part ways.

“That’s not easy to do as you continue to form that relationship with a young man and his family, but it’s not right for that young man and it’s not right for us if we don’t believe he will succeed at Notre Dame — for whatever reason — for bring him here.”

Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. He’s on social media @MikeBerardino.

This article originally appeared in the South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football ramps up recruiting timeline at start of year