Notre Dame football has a chance to get last laugh against USC and Chad Bowden for a very important defensive recruit
Notre Dame football has great momentum with several talented EDGE defenders in the 2026 recruiting class right now, including five-star Rodney Dunham. Al Washington and the Fighting Irish staff do still have answers they need to find recruiting defensive tackles. Impact interior defenders are something that have mostly eluded them in recent years.
So far in the 2026 recruiting class, Notre Dame has been working with a smaller defensive tackle board. Bastrop (Texas) High School standout Tiki Hola is someone the staff has been pursuing for a long time. They have been in a good place battling with several schools. The Irish became one step closer toward earning a commitment from Hola on Friday.
The Texas product announced his finalist, and Notre Dame was included. They were joined by USC and SMU. Hola will be announcing his commitment on May 10th, and they will be battling general manager Chad Bowden and the Trojans until the very end.
The recruiting rankings are a bit odd for Hola. Despite strong production in a very talented area of football, and impressive offer list, Hola is considered to be a three-star by many. He is considered a four-star player on the 247Sports Composite ranking, currently sitting as the No. 312 overall player, No. 37 defensive lineman, and No. 40 player in the state of Texas.
Outside of his finalists, Hola has a long list of impressive offers. Some of the top programs that have offered include Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, LSU, Tennessee, Miami, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Auburn, Arizona State, TCU, Oklahoma State, Arizona, Texas Tech, Boston College, Baylor, and Houston among several others.
Despite playing defensive tackle for the Bastrop Bears, Hola managed to lead the team in tackles as a junior. In 12 games, Hola collected 102 total and 10 tackles for loss. The 6-2, 285-pound defender also forced three fumbles, recovered two more fumbles, blocked two field goals, and another punt.
Even though Hola isn’t the biggest defensive tackle of all time, he has the frame to hold over 300 pounds. He is an imposing presence at the point of attack, playing with great leverage and impressive power. Hola should be an impact player against the run, even if he is never much of a factor as a pass rusher.
