"They have so much success": Five-star TE blown away by Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame after a recent trip

Marcus Freeman is prioritizing Notre Dame's offense as he looks to elevate it to the next level. One of the top prospects the Irish are targeting in the 2026 class is five-star tight end Matt Ludwig.

Ludwig visited South Bend last week, where he spent quality time with the Notre Dame coaching staff, including Freeman, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Denbrock, assistant coach Harris Bivin and director of recruiting Carter Auman.

"Had a great time in South Bend, thank you @NDFootball @MikeDenbrock @HarrisBivin @Marcus_Freeman1 @CarterAuman," Ludwig tweeted on Friday.

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The Fighting Irish have a strong tradition of producing elite tight ends, and Denbrock has been rising in the 2026 recruiting board in the last few months. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound prospect is aware of the opportunities the program offers.

"The culture that has been built there is why they have so much success," Ludwig said on Saturday, via On3.

Ludwig, who attends Billings West High School in Billings, Montana, plays both offense and defense but mainly excels at tight end. He is the No. 1 recruit in Montana and the No. 10 tight end in the nation, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

As a junior in the 2024 season, Ludwig recorded 53 catches for 822 yards and four touchdowns across 11 games.

Notre Dame missed Matt Ludwig's top 4

In January, Matt Ludwig narrowed his choices down to four schools: Georgia, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas Tech. 247Sports predicted he would commit to Michigan with a Crystal Ball projection, while On3 gives the Wolverines an 88.5% chance of landing him.

Notre Dame wasn’t included in Ludwig’s final four, as it extended its offer late on March 14. However, given the Irish's extensive focus on offense and lack of a tight end commit in the 2026 class, they are expected to heavily pursue Ludwig, which could force him to reconsider his early choice.

Notre Dame's 2026 class is fresh off receiving the commitment of four-star safety Ayden Pouncey on Sunday. This cycle ranks No. 4 in the nation with 12 committed players. Seven of those are offensive players, led by four-star quarterback Noah Grubbs.

The Irish may aim to add two tight ends in the 2026 cycle. Besides Ludwig, they are also in contention for four-star tight ends JC Anderson and Evan Jacobson.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez