Pot of Gold Day Recap: Notre Dame offers several Northeast prospects
Monday was St. Patrick’s Day, and it was also a big day for the Notre Dame football program, as the Fighting Irish celebrated “Pot of Gold Day” by offering scholarships to nearly 100 prospects in the class of 2027.
Fresh off of an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship game, head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish are looking to continue their momentum on the recruiting trail.
Notre Dame offered several prospects in the Northeast on Monday. Here are their reactions and a closer look at each recruit.
Hiller is one of the most coveted offensive linemen in the 2027 class, checking in as the No. 2 recruit in the state of Pennsylvania, the No. 6 offensive tackle and the No. 76 overall prospect in the Rivals250.
The Coatesville Area High School (Coatesville, Pennsylvania) standout already has around 30 scholarship offers to this point in his recruitment, but the offer from Notre Dame was special to Hiller.
“This offer means a lot because of the OL play and tradition at this school, and also these coaches here are all great and I’m starting to build a great relationship with Coach Freeman and (offensive line) Coach (Joe) Rudolph,” Hiller told Rivals after receiving the Notre Dame offer.
He doesn’t have a date locked in yet, but mentioned he will “definitely” be visiting Notre Dame at some point this spring. Hiller is planning spring visits to other programs as well, but he has not finalized his schedule yet.
Another Rivals250 prospect, Kimble checks in as the No. 15 running back and No. 191 overall recruit in the 2027 cycle.
The Canisius High School (Buffalo, New York) star tailback was thankful for the Notre Dame offer, and he plans to check out what the Fighting Irish have to offer in person later this month.
“I’m very grateful for the offer, especially on St. Patrick’s Day,” Kimble said. “I plan to get up on campus very soon.”
In fact, Kimble has locked in a visit to South Bend for March 29. He will also visit Ohio State on April 5 and Texas on April 12. He plans to add a few more schools to his travel plans, but hasn’t locked those in quite yet.
A rising name to watch in the 2027 class, Lewis already has 20 scholarship offers, including from several Power Four Programs. The Notre Dame offer has his attention.
“Man, it feels great to be offered by Notre Dame,” Lewis said. “It’s really a dream come true!”
The Huguenot High School (Richmond, Virginia) athlete is yet to be evaluated by Rivals, but that is likely to change soon.
Lewis doesn’t have his visits set in stone yet, but he plans to make trips to Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina in the coming months.
The No. 161 overall prospect and No. 13 running back in the 2027 cycle, Rogers has already amassed offers from Boston College, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Syracuse, Washington and others.
Following the Notre Dame offer on Monday, Rogers is eager to learn more about the Irish.
“I’m excited to be offered by a program that sends players to the NFL consistently, and am looking forward to seeing what they do with the program in the future,” Rogers said about Notre Dame.
He has a couple of trips planned to schools near his hometown in Springfield, Massachusetts and is looking to possibly add more schools later on as well.
“As for visits, I have mostly local ones like Boston College and Syracuse, but I’m still looking forward to more in the future,” Rogers said.
Notre Dame also offered class of 2027 nickel back Xavier Sabb. He is currently the No. 167 overall prospect in the Rivals250, and ranks as the No. 3 recruit in state of New Jersey and the No. 8 nickel in the cycle.
Sabb, who also plays basketball for Glassboro High School in New Jersey, has around 30 scholarship offers to his name to date. Schools that have offered him thus far include Alabama, Boston College, Colorado, Duke, Florida State, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami (FL.), Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee, USC, Wake Forest, West Virginia, Wisconsin and others.
Notre Dame threw its hat in the ring for Sabb with the offer to the All-American on “Pot of Gold Day.”
Smith has seen an uptick in his recruitment as of late, and has received offers from Kentucky, Michigan State, Missouri, Rutgers, Syracuse, Tennessee and others.
Notre Dame entered the mix for Smith on Monday, and he’s building relationships with offensive line coach Joe Rudolph and assistant offensive line coach Rob Delaney.
“When Coach Delaney offered me, I was so thankful,” Smith said. “I talked to Coach Rudolph and Coach Delaney before and we had a great conversation. I wanna get up to Notre Dame and see what the school is really about.”
He is working on getting a Notre Dame visit set. In the meantime, Smith has trips planned for the spring to Syracuse (March 22), Michigan State (March 27), Penn State (April 5), Ohio State (April 11) and South Carolina (April 17).
The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Smith has not been evaluated by Rivals, but will be in the future.
One of the more intriguing offers from “Pot of Gold Day” came when Notre Dame offered four-star running back and top-75 prospect back Kemon Spell.
Spell has been committed to Penn State since August of 2024, and a large factor in his decision to pledge to the Nittany Lions was his relationship with position coach Ja’Juan Seider. The longtime PSU running backs coach made the move to Notre Dame this offseason to become the Fighting Irish’s associate head coach and running backs coach.
The McKeesport, Pennsylvania tailback remains close with Seider, but is still solid in his commitment to Penn State as of right now.
“It’s a big time offer,” Spell told Rivals about Notre Dame. “Me and Coach Seider’s connection is amazing no matter where he goes and the circumstances. I talked to Coach Freeman, the energy and vibe he had over the phone was amazing. They want me to get up there soon as possible to meet everyone and see how the program and campus is. I’m still committed to Penn State. With Coach Seider leaving, you know he is following me no matter where he goes — we still have a strong connection, and I plan to get up there (to Notre Dame) soon.”
He will plan on visits to Notre Dame and Penn State in the near future, but does not have dates for either yet.
Spell is the No. 74 overall prospect in the Rivals250, and he also ranks as the No. 1 player in Pennsylvania and No. 5 running back in the 2027 cycle.
Whitehead is amongst the top-30 prospects in the nation, checking in at No. 29 nationally. He also ranks as the No. 1 player in the state of Virginia and the No. 4 EDGE in the 2027 class.
Notre Dame is getting involved now after the Fighting Irish offered the Lloyd C. Bird High School (Chesterfield, Virginia) pass rusher on Monday.
With additional offers already from Georgia, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina State, Penn State, SMU, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and several others, the competition is high for the 6-foot-4, 215-pound EDGE defender.
The Seminoles, Nittany Lions, Volunteers and others have Whitehead’s attention early, but the Fighting Irish are now a team to watch moving forward.
