Notre Dame recruit Ayden Pouncey celebrates as Marcus Freeman's program secures four-star LB to the Class of 2026

Four-star linebacker Kobe Clapper committed to Notre Dame's 2026 class on Friday. The St. Xavier High School (Ohio) standout chose Marcus Freeman's program over schools like Michigan, Ohio State and Tennessee.

Clapper's decision comes a week after Notre Dame landed another top recruit, four-star safety Ayden Pouncey. On3 ranks him No. 12 at his position in the 2026 class.

After Clapper’s announcement, Pouncey celebrated the momentum on X, tweeting:

"🍀🍀🤫🤫."

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Notre Dame had made Clapper a priority for some time, with linebackers coach Max Bullough leading the recruiting effort and former defensive coordinator Al Golden also playing a key role. Clapper visited the campus four times, most recently on March 28.

With Clapper's commitment, Notre Dame boasts 13 pledges in the 2026 class, propelling the Irish from outside the top 10 to the No. 4-ranked class in the nation. Clapper is also the high school teammate of defensive tackle Gordy Sulfsted, who will join the Irish as a freshman in June.

What potential does Kobe Clapper bring to Notre Dame?

Kobe Clapper is the No. 30 linebacker in the 2026 class and the No. 20 recruit in Ohio, according to On3. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound prospect helped lead St. Xavier to the Ohio Region 4 state championship game as a junior in the 2024 season.

“Another great catch at linebacker for Notre Dame,” recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of the Prep Football Report said to Rivals about Clapper. “When you watch him, he’s got that great first step, sort of like Drayk Bowen. He’ll play around 230-240 by the time he gets to Notre Dame."

Clapper recorded 105 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and two pass breakups in his junior season.

“He’s very mature for his age,” Clapper's high school coach Steve Specht previously said to Blue & Gold’s Kyle Kelly about him. “He plays with great energy. He’s very smart. His football IQ is off the chart. All of those elements are needed to help the younger kids.”

Clapper is the Irish's second linebacker commit of the class, joining four-star prospect Thomas Davis Jr.

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 Abhimanyu Gupta