Notre Dame is a college football melting pot . Brand recognition and athletic and academic excellence is what steers the Fighting Irish, and in terms of recruitment, there are no bounds to how far in the world players can hail from .
Head coach Marcus Freeman has built a diverse team with representatives from 30 US states and three foreign countries .
The team has even received praise for a new short-documentary ‘The Irish Are Home’ which gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to stage a game between high-performing college football teams.
But which states have produced the most Fighting Irish players ? From the east coast to the west, and everywhere in between, here are the states with the most Notre Dame players.
California (12)
The Fighting Irish have a long and rich history of mining talent out of California , one of the nation's hotbeds of blue-chippers. Five-star LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa played for perennial powerhouse St. John's Bosco.
Illinois and Ohio (8)
Notre Dame has remained loyal to its Midwest roots despite being a national program. Eight players come from Illinois and Ohio, with a focus in Cincinnati and the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn.
Indiana, New Jersey and North Carolina (7)
Notre Dame's reach has extended to New Jersey and North Carolina, states that enjoy attention from Big Ten, ACC, and SEC schools. The Fighting Irish has seven players from its home state .
Massachusetts, Michigan and Texas (6)
Texas and Michigan are a given but Massachusetts is a turn up for the books as the state is not famed for producing football players. The Irish landed two young stars from Boston's Catholic Memorial , true freshman OL Guerby Lambert and second-year DL Boubacar Traore.
Florida, Pennsylvania and Virginia (5)
Notre Dame have stuck a claim in three states which are significant for every major program. A mix of high school recruits and ready-made transfers from Florida , Pennsylvania , and Virginia enrich the team, and make it what it is.
Georgia, International and Missouri (4)
Four players on the 2024 roster grew up overseas , Armel Mukam and Devan Houston are Canadian, James Rendell is Australian, and Charles Du hails from Beijing, China.
Arizona, Louisiana and Nebraska (3)
The Irish have made their way to Omaha, with three players hailing from the city , including All-American safety Xavier Watts.
Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee (2)
The Northeast is becoming a hotbed for Notre Dame players , with two from Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union.
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Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Wisconsin and Wyoming (1)
New QB Riley Leonard is from Fairhope, AL. Meanwhile, the Irish beat out a bunch of ACC and SEC schools for Hilton Head Island LB Jaylen Sneed, who's set for a breakout third season.
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