Notre Dame earned its first of three verbal commitments of the 2025 class this past weekend on Saturday afternoon when running back Daniel Anderson gave his pledge to the Fighting Irish. The 5’11″/185-pounder out of Bryant, Arkansas was the fourth player to join Notre Dame’s recruiting class of 2025, a class which currently ranks third in the nation per the 247 Composite team rankings behind Georgia and Alabama.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 3 star (.8872), #361 overall, #33 RB, #3 in AR

On3 Consensus — 3 star (87.55), #418 overall, #38 RB, #4 in AR

The 247 Composite and On3 Consensus both combine 247, On3, Rivals, and ESPN rankings.

247Sports — 3 star (86 rating), NR overall, #50 RB, #6 in AR

On3 — 3 star (87 rating), NR overall, #40 RB, #5 in AR

Rivals — 4 star (5.8 rating), #171 overall, #15 RB, #2 in AR

ESPN — Not Yet Rated

Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama does the recruit evaluations for ISD, and we trust his evals as much as anyone’s. So while the 247 Composite and the On3 Consensus don’t factor in ISD evals, we put a lot of weight on them ourselves.

Irish Sports Daily — 3 star (87 rating)

Cohort

Daniel earned his offer from Notre Dame after camping for the Irish back in June. At the time, he was the very definition of an under-the-radar guy, with his lone offer at that point in time coming from FCS Long Island University. Since then, he’s added offers from Arkansas State and Colorado as well as camp offers from Mississippi State and Tennessee.

Highlights

Daniel’s best attribute based on his film is his ability to run physical and continue driving his feet through contact. He doesn’t look like a burner, but he is a guy who will power through tackles and gain yards after contact despite possessing average size for a high school running back.

For a more detailed film review from an actual professional, I always recommend reading ISD’s Film Don’t Lie piece on Anderson.

Impact

Notre Dame has completed its 2025 running back haul early with Daniel Anderson and Justin Thurman already in the fold and about 15 months left until they’re set to sign in December next year. The Irish are absolutely stacked at the position right now with a ton of talent both on the roster and committed between the 2024 and 2025 classes. My first assumption is that it may be tough for one of the less-heralded recruits of that group like Anderson to see the field early, but McCullough obviously saw something in him during his camp performance that maybe the recruiting services just haven’t seen yet. I tend not to worry about recruiting rankings 15 months before a kid is set to sign, as rankings can change wildly over time. Anderson’s development is one worth keeping track of.

Welcome to the Irish family, Daniel!