Notre Dame Football Eyeing Top Penn State Running Back Commit Messiah Mickens
Notre Dame football had to replace one of the nation’s best running backs coaches in Deland McCullough who left for the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish did so by going and getting Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider. Although the move hasn’t been made official by the school yet, Seider has been posting images to social media seeming to indicate the reports are very much true.
Now could Notre Dame be raiding Penn State’s house again, this time taking one of the Nittany Lions’ top recruits in the 2026 recruiting class?
There is a long way to go for that to actually happen, but current Penn State running back commitment Messiah Mickens is at least going to take a look at other schools following Seider’s departure, and Notre Dame is one of those.
Mickens is rated the 10th best running back in the 2026 recruiting class according to On3 and the fourth-overall player from Pennsylvania in the class.
Mickens spoke to Steve Wiltfong of On3 about his recruitment and says that he plans to make a few official visits around the country with Notre Dame being one of them.
North Carolina, Missouri, South Carolina, and Tennessee also were mentioned by Mickens as schools that he plans to visit.
Mickens on Potentially Leaving Penn State
Mickens told Wiltfong that despite the fact he’s looking around elsewhere, that ultimately de-committing from Penn State wouldn’t be something easy to do.
“Super hard for me to leave, honestly.” Mickens said. “God will give me the sign if it’s right or not”
Notre Dame’s Current 2026 Recruiting Class
Notre Dame currently has seven commitments in the 2026 recruiting class that 247Sports ranks as the nation’s eighth best. However, zero of those seven commitments are running backs.
