Notre Dame coaches on the road: Al Golden, Mike Mickens to check in on elite 2025 target

The Notre Dame staff is out on the road recruiting for a third week during the spring evaluation period and will have coaches from coast to coast. The staff is actually pretty grouped together for their Monday travels though.

During the spring evaluation period, the Irish staff can have “contact” with high school juniors. That means they can have full-on conversations rather than just a “bump” as previously allowed. But as far as 2026 prospects go, the “bump” rule remains.

The NCAA does not permit head coaches from visiting prospects during the spring period.

Here is where the Fighting Irish staff is expected to be on Wednesday, according to Blue & Gold sources:

— Notre Dame offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Denbrock , receivers coach Mike Brown and running backs coach Deland McCullough will be checking in on prospects in the Sunshine State today.

Denbrock and McCullough are expected to drop by Boca Raton (Fla.) West today, which is home of Javian Mallory , a 2026 running back target for the Fighting Irish. Mallory — along with the next three prospects we’ll mention who Denbrock will see — added an offer from Notre Dame in March for Pot of Gold day.

Brown and Denbrock will stop in at Boca Raton (Fla.) Saint Andrew’s School for Dylan Faison , a wide receiver recruit who is Notre Dame’s lone commitment of the 2026 class. He’s of course the younger brother of Irish receiver and standout lacrosse player Jordan Faison .

They’ll also check in at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep and Miami Northwestern for 2026 receivers Jabari Brady and Calvin Russell , respectively. Russell and Brady rank as the No. 2 and No. 4 receivers nationally per the On3 Industry Ranking, respectively.

— Irish quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli spent time in the South last week, and he starts this week out in California. He’ll get a look at Clovis (Calif.) High’s Deagan Rose , a 2026 passer who the Irish staff is intrigued with. We wrote this past Friday that Guidugli would be seeing Rose this week. Rose could earn an offer from the Irish if he impressed Guidugli enough.

Guidugli is also expected at Folsom (Calif.) High for elite 2026 passer Ryder Lyons , who Notre Dame is very high on, but Lyons has yet to make a trip out to South Bend.

— Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph is expected in a couple states Monday to see four class of 2026 prospects, two of whom he’s already offered in Durham (N.C.) South Garner’s Ekene Ogboko and Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher’s Darius Gray . Both top-100 overall prospects have previously visited Notre Dame.

He’s also expected to inquire about the following two 2026 offensive line recruits — Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day School’s Leon Delaney and Clemmons (N.C.) West Forsyth’s Pierre Dean .

— Moving to the defensive side of the ball, four Irish staffers will be in the state of North Carolina. Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens will check in with Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor’s JaDon Blair , who is one of Notre Dame’s top overall targets in the 2025 class. Blair ranks as the No. 139 overall player and No. 15 safety per the On3 Industry Ranking. Blair visited South Bend in the spring and has an official visit to campus lined up next month.

Golden and Irish defensive line coach Al Washington are expected to stop by Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park for EDGE Rodney Dunham , who was on campus a few weeks ago. Dunham is one to watch for ND in the 2026 class.

And Golden and linebackers coach Max Bullough will make it out to Matthews (N.C.) Weddington for key 2026 linebacker target Thomas Davis Jr. He’s another prospect to keep a close eye on for the Irish in the next cycle.

— Last week, Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi spent a few days in Australia. And his efforts paid off, as the Irish landed a pledge from punter James Rendell. And to start this week, Biagi is in Hawaii and will visit Honolulu Punahou to meet with Irish 2025 linebacker commit Ko’o Kia and scout other players in the state.

Being Notre Dame’s special teams coordinator pays off with some good travel destinations.

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