Notre Dame Freshman Receiver Devin Fitzgerald Is Already Ahead Of Schedule
From unheralded recruit to spring standout, this Arizona native bypassed the typical freshman learning curve, dominating scrimmages and earning his shot against the Irish’s elite defensive starters.
Notre Dame brought in the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in 2026 and the majority of them were on campus this spring. Amongst the early enrollees, was a group of young wide receivers that made a strong impression during spring training.
One of those players, was Arizona native Devin Fitzgerald who came onto the scene early in spring. Coming out of high school, Fitzgerald wasn't one of the higher-rated offensive players in the class. He broke out as a senior in high school hauling in 82 catches for 1,230 yards, averaged 15.
0 yards per catch and tallied 15 receiving touchdowns. That was a massive step up from his junior season when he had 720 receiving yards and nine touchdowns. He was an exciting recruit to break down, and when he committed we talked about his impact down the road in South Bend.
His senior year production and film from Brophy Prep is what started to turn some heads. Fitzgerald started to look the part of a big-time boundary receiver, but it was looking like he was still going to need a year or two in Notre Dame's strength and conditioning program, and more time with the offense in general, before he would be considered a player ready to contribute. Fitzgerald was my offensive sleeper pick this spring to have a breakout and that's exactly what happened.