Eli Ledermanapr 10, 2025, 04:43 PM ET
Closeli Lederman covers college football and recruitment at ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma and the world of Tulsa.
Four-star Edge Rush Rodney Dunham, the defensive end of ESPN’s sixth issue in the 2026 cycle, announced its commitment to Notre Dame on Thursday, landing alongside the Fighting Irishman as a top-ranked prospect for manager Marcus Freeman’s next recruiting class.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound recruit from Charlotte, North Carolina, is overall outlook at 57th in the 2026 ESPN 300. He chose Notre Dame in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Duke after visiting all five schools in 2025. 146) Fighting Ireland’s third top 150 commit and the sixth ESPN pledge of the programme in the cycle.
In addition to the pairing of two local programs (Duke and South Carolina) and nearby SEC Power (Georgia and Tennessee), Notre Dame has surged in the later stages of recruitment this spring, starting as it stood as a regional outlier among Dunham finalists.
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Dunham told ESPN that Fighting Ireland was marked for the first time on a plane on a visit in late March. The trip strengthened the school’s soccer tradition and academic fame, and strengthened Dunham’s connection with Notre Dame’s line of defense coach Al Washington. Dunham also offered a valuable window into Freeman, the program’s fourth-year coach, and said through a chance encounter, Dunham ultimately helped seal his decision.
“I was talking to one of the staff members there, the one who was serving food. [Freeman] and the way he presents himself in front of the players. It’s the type of guy you’re growing up as a young adult and wants to be masculine. It’s not just soccer. ”
Dunham sees it as a prospect of development that has increased at the next level, slowing down from the line of scrimmage and outstanding pass rushing techniques. He recorded 94 tackles (26) and 12 bags in his sophomore and junior season at Myers Park High School in Charlotte.
Dunham is not planning on playing baseball in college after first considering two-sport tracks early in the recruitment as he is an impressive pitcher who has cleared his 90mph fastball.
Defending National Runner Up Fighting Ireland closed its country’s 15th-ranked class in the 2025 cycle. If Dunham lands on campus in 2026, he will arrive at Notre Dame as the program’s most rated defensive signer since external linebacker Jalen Snead, ESPN’s 48 No. 48 recruit in the 2022 cycle.
Dunham’s pledge arrived less than a week after the Battle of Ireland secured the commitment of Ebenezer Yuwetabe (229 overall) with four-star defence ending. Davis, son of three-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker Thomas Davis Sr., and Notre Dame have outstanding front class early pieces in the 2026 cycle. Three-star cornerback Chaston Smith concludes his collection of programs of four defenders who have committed so far in his class.
Dunham joins the five-star Maryland pledge Zion Elee (2nd overall), with Texas A&M committing Jordan Carter (No. 59) in the early elite defensive end off the board in 2026.
Former LSU pledge 5-star edge rusher Jareylan McCoy is set to return to Florida this weekend. Ohio and Texas are two of the latest programs hosting five-star Richard Wesley. Richard Wesley can also travel to Texas A&M and Tennessee next week. Five-star defensive side Jake Clewl visited Oklahoma on Thursday.
Seven of ESPN’s top 10 defensive ends in the 2026 class are not dependent on this spring.
