Thomas Davis Jr., ex-NFL star’s kid, picks Irish

Eli Lederman, ESPN Personnel WriterNov 12, 2024, 08:03 PM ET Close Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.Notre Dame landed its highest-ranked commitment in the 2026 class Tuesday night with a promise from four-star outside linebacker Thomas Davis Jr., the boy of previous Georgia All-American and 16-year NFL veteran Thomas Davis.The more youthful Davis is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound junior at North Carolina

‘s Weddington High School and is ranked as the No. 126 general prospect in the ESPN Junior 300. His dedication comes three days after he checked out Notre Dame throughout the program’s 52-3 win over Florida State, and likewise follows the Irish’s Monday night turn in the 2025 class of previous Boston College running back pledge Nolan James, another weekend visitor in South Bend.After logging 123 total tackles across his very first two seasons of high school football, Davis reaches completion of his junior season as

ESPN’s No. 10 outside linebacker in the 2026 cycle. Other front-runners for his pledge included Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina, NC State and Oregon.Editor’s Picks

Davis is the 3rd and highest-rated member of head coach Marcus Freeman’s 2026 class. Davis joins four-star quarterback Noah Grubbs (No. 140 in the ESPN 300) as the second top-300 possibility to dedicate to Notre Dame in 2026, and the Irish also hold a promise from 2026 three-star wide receiver Dylan Faison of Boca Raton, Florida.Davis will follow his daddy’s steps into significant college football when he signs at the end of the 2025 cycle.The elder Davis spent three seasons at Georgia, from 2002 to 2004, emerging as a two-time All-SEC linebacker and earning agreement All-American honors in his junior season in 2004. The 14th choice in the 2005 NFL draft, he spent the first 14 years of his NFL profession with the Carolina Panthers, where he ended up being a three-time Pro Bowl selection and an All-Pro in 2015. He was likewise named the NFL’s Walter Payton Guy of the Year in 2014. Notre Dame’s 2025 class is headlined by nine ESPN 300 promises and presently ranks

15th in ESPN’s newest group class rankings for the 2025 cycle. The eighth-ranked Irish host Virginia at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.