CLASS IMPACT: Notre Dame Lands Wide Receiver Devin Fitzgerald originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Notre Dame has landed another important commitment in its 2026 class with Arizona wide receiver Devin Fitzgerald committing to the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame beat out Clemson and UCLA to land the talented pass catcher.
NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT
Fitzgerald is the 24th player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2026 class and he’s the 15th offensive player. He is also the fourth wide receiver, joining Kaydon Finley, Bubba Frazier and Dylan Faison. Finley and Fitzgerald committed to Notre Dame on back-to-back days.
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As was stated in the Class Impact for Finley, Notre Dame entered the 2026 recruiting cycle looking to add numbers and impact talent to the wide receiver position. The Irish landed three players in the 2025 class, three in the 2024 class and five in the 2023 class. Two of the players in the 2023 class have already departed and that class will be seniors when the 2026 class arrives. With Notre Dame looking to run more 11 personnel under Mike Denbrock the depth chart needed another boost in numbers at the position.
The goal in the class was to land at least four receivers in the class, although that could always grow to five if the right group of players wanted to commit to Notre Dame. Landing Fitzgerald means Notre Dame has now met its minimum numbers need in the class, but the staff does appear set on adding one more talented players to the class.
Adding a player who projects well to the boundary position was also a want in this class, if not a need. Fitzgerald has some versatility but his best fit at this time appears to be the boundary, meaning the Irish landed another need by picking up this commitment.
NOTRE DAME FIT
Fitzgerald can play both outside spots in the Notre Dame offense, but my opinion is his best position at this time is the boundary spot (X). Fitzgerald is already 6-2 with long arms, and his ability to win contested catches, make tough plays and route running potential all project well to the boundary position. Fitzgerald also has the tools to work the middle of the field and can make plays down the field, which are two more traits that fit very well into the boundary position in the Notre Dame offense.
FILM ANALYSIS
I like the size and strength potential that Fitzgerald brings to the table. He’s listed at 6-2 and shows impressive arm length, which helps him have a big catch radius. This is especially true as a boundary receiver, but it helps at multiple spots. He plays with good strength now and he’s listed at 195 pounds, but Fitzgerald has the kind of frame that should allow him to add at least 10-15 pounds to his frame. He’ll also add a lot more strength, and as that comes his ability to dominate one-on-one matchups will continue.
The first thing you’ll see on film with Fitzgerald is his impressive catching ability. On top of having long arms, he seems to have big hands, and they are strong. He’s able to consistently out-play defenders for the football and he makes tough catches look easy. As a junior he started making more acrobatic catches, and he made them look easy. His concentration and ability to track the ball grades out extremely well. In fact, his ball skills are the highest graded trait on the Irish Breakdown board. This trait is ideally suited for the boundary spot as well.
Athletically, Fitzgerald shows a strong all-around skillset. He doesn’t possess any one elite athletic trait but his all-around traits show out well. His balance and agility standout the most. He shows the ability to quickly get into and out of stop cuts (stops, curls, comebacks) and he can do some damage after the catch. He shows impressive leaping ability, showing not only the ability to jump high but also to quickly get off the ground, which helps him win one-on-one battles and makes him a strong contested catch player. He’s not a burner but he gets off the line well and showed improved speed as a junior. Don’t be surprised if it’s even better as a senior, as you are already seeing him getting more separation as a route runner during the 7-on-7 circuit.
Fitzgerald is an instinctive wide receiver, which you would expect. He’s smart, he knows how to work himself free and he shows a good early grasp on how to manipulate defenders. He’s a strong route runner at the prep level and there’s room to grow. As he improves his overall route running repertoire, especially improving how he attacks leverage, this has a chance to become another major strength of his game at the college level.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.