The final remaining Notre Dame football recruiting target in the 2026 class is set to reveal his decision.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney<\/a><\/strong> defensive lineman Elijah Golden<\/a><\/strong> will announce his verbal commitment. The four-star prospect is choosing among Notre Dame, Alabama, Oklahoma and Virginia Tech after officially visiting all four schools in June.<\/p>\n Before narrowing his list, the 6-foot-3\u00bd, 278-pound Golden reported scholarship offers from 35 other Power Four programs. Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Oregon, Penn State and Texas A&M were among the heavyweights that pursued him.<\/p>\n Golden is ranked the No. 191 overall prospect, No. 19 defensive lineman nationally and No. 26 player in Florida, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.<\/p>\n He began his high school career at King George<\/a><\/strong> (Va.) High in his home state before transferring to IMG Academy<\/a><\/strong> in Bradenton, Fla., for his sophomore season. Golden then moved to Sarasota (Fla.) Cardinal Mooney<\/a><\/strong>, where he\u2019s played the past two years under head coach Jared Clark<\/strong><\/a>, a former Notre Dame quarterback and tight end.<\/p>\n Where will Elijah Golden commit?<\/p>\n Following his official visit tour, Notre Dame appeared to hold the momentum.<\/p>\n On June 29 \u2014 about a week after his trip to South Bend \u2014 Blue & Gold reported<\/strong><\/a> Golden would announce his decision on July 26. Predictions began trending in Notre Dame\u2019s favor in the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM)<\/strong><\/a>, including one from Blue & Gold<\/strong><\/a> recruiting insider Mike Singer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n However, on July 17, Golden decided to postpone his initial July 26 commitment by two weeks. Since then, Oklahoma has made a strong push, while Alabama and Virginia Tech have stayed in the mix.<\/p>\n Alabama already holds three interior defensive line commitments in the 2026 class: Nolan Wilson<\/a><\/strong>, Kamhariyan Johnson<\/a><\/strong> and JJ Finch<\/a><\/strong>. They rank as the Nos. 3, 36 and 54 defensive linemen, respectively. Notre Dame (Tiki Hola<\/a><\/strong>) and Oklahoma (Brian Harris<\/a><\/strong>) each have one interior defensive line commit. Virginia Tech is still seeking its first.<\/p>\n The Irish (Rodney Dunham<\/a><\/strong> and Ebenezer Ewetade<\/a><\/strong>), Sooners (Matthew Nelson<\/a><\/strong> and Daniel Norman) and Hokies (Kamdon Gillespie<\/a><\/strong> and Kamren Johnson<\/a><\/strong>) also have two EDGE commits each, while the Tide have one (Jamarion Matthews<\/a><\/strong>).<\/p>\n Five days before Golden\u2019s decision date, Rivals vice president of recruiting Steve Wiltfong<\/strong> entered a prediction in Notre Dame\u2019s favor. If Golden commits to the Irish, he would become their 27th pledge in the 2026 cycle and strengthen a class that currently ranks No. 4 nationally.<\/p>\n How to watch Elijah Golden\u2019s commitment<\/p>\n