Notre Dame has shown it loves to recruit sons of former NFL players to the Fighting Irish, and it seems to be working out for them.
This past season, they had Jordan Clark, son of Pittsburgh Steelers great Ryan Clark, who helped contribute to Notre Dame’s National Championship appearance.
The Fighting Irish also have a commitment from Thomas Davis Jr., son of Thomas Davis Sr., who played most of his career with the Carolina Panthers.
Davis Jr. has been a great commit for the Fighting Irish as he has helped to bring in other recruits, constantly talking up the program and making sure players know how special a program it is. Notre Dame is now after another former NFL great’s son, and that is Cooper Witten, son of great Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten.
Cooper Witten is a part of the Class of 2027, but is already starting to make visits to potential schools, with Notre Dame being one of them, coming in June. Witten is currently the No. 1 overall linebacker in his recruiting class and will be a highly sought-after player by many colleges, including Tennessee, his father’s Alma Mater.
Head coach Marcus Freeman, so far, doesn’t have any commitments for the Class of 2027, which is by no means surprising; it is still very, very early for any of those players to be making commitments unless they are just absolutely sure on where they want to go. However, these visits, which Freeman is hosting for 2026 and 2027 recruits, are crucial for the building of this program’s future.
Witten is already a 4-star recruit and, as mentioned earlier, is the No. 1 ranked linebacker in his class; clearly, he isn’t fully following in his father’s footsteps. Witten is also ranked as the No. 4 overall player in the state of Texas and is a three-sport athlete coming in at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds.
The Fighting Irish have already extended an offer to Witten along with Tennessee, Duke, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, and numerous other schools. Snatching up a former NFL player’s son worked well for Notre Dame in the 2026 cycle, and if Witten can be like Davis Jr., he has to be a top priority get for Freeman in the next recruiting cycle.
