Javian Osborne has locked in his commitment.
Notre Dame edged out Michigan for the blue-chip running back out of Texas, who wanted to commit early and help build the rest of the Irish’s star-studded 2026 recruiting class.
Rivals’ No. 3 RB out of Forney (Texas) High made the declaration public on Saturday after two trips up to South Bend, including a return back for the Irish’s spring game in April.
Notre Dame has been in pole position since Osborne’s first time on campus when Marcus Freeman and Ja’Juan Seider wasted no time emphasizing that he was a priority for this coaching staff.
“I took that first trip and it ain’t never been the same. It opened my eyes even more for Notre Dame,” Osborne told Rivals.
“When you think about Notre Dame, you think about the football aspect, but they possess so much opportunities on and off the field,” the top-100 prospect in the Rivals250 continued. “You get a degree from Notre Dame and it carries a lot of weight to it. As a football player — the amount of resources you’re around, it’s different .. It felt great when I first stepped foot there. To experience the locker room with the guys, getting their perspective was even better. They’re great great and even better football players.”
Osborne will return to South Bend a third time for his official visit — on June 13-15 weekend.
The four-star RB is excited to reconnect with Freeman. The Irish’s head coach has taken a leading role in Osborne’s recruitment.
“When you talk to Coach Freeman, you can play for that guy any day. He’s such a good human being. You talk about great coaches — he’s an even better human being. He’s more about the team than himself — even though he’s getting paid the big bucks — which tells you a lot about who he is as a person. You don’t find those people too often,” he said.
“He’s a player’s coach. He played football, he knows how to relate to the players, and people see that. He’s a leader of men, and he breeds them into Notre Dame men,” Osborne continued. “He’s a great coach and even better person … when you have those types of people, you can’t miss on opportunities like that.”
Equally as significant has been Seider’s role in this recruitment. Notre Dame’s running backs coach has a strong track record — with big plans for the blue-chipper for Texas.
“That guy is one of a kind,” Osborne said of Seider. “He knows how to turn it on and off, and knows when it’s time to get strictly to business … he’s a guy I wanna be around the next three or four years in my college career and get developed by him.”
