Notre Dame was coming off one of the most impressive recruiting weekends in recent memory when they hosted Florida State and rolled in convincing fashion. They knocked it out of the park in terms of getting high profile talent to attend, and rolling out the red carpet in hopes of landing top tier talent. It has already started to pay off, as just days later, C/O 2026 4-star LB Thomas Davis Jr. announced his commitment to the Irish via social media.
Photo via Favour Akih
Notre Dame continued to impress the visiting recruits this past weekend when the University of Virginia came to town. Not only did the Irish take care of business on the field, they also impressed when it came to recruiting, as many of the recruits left campus raving about their trip to South Bend. One of those recruits was C/O 2026 RB Favour Akih, who said his trip to Notre Dame, and the game itself was “amazing.”
Akih, a junior at Rutherford B. Hayes High School in Delware, OH, is currently ranked by 247Sports Composite as a 4-star RB, and the 6th best player in the state of Ohio. He currently holds offers from Penn State, Michigan State, and Iowa State, to name a few. I caught up with Favour Akih following his visit to Notre Dame to learn a little more about his recruitment, how his trip went, what an offer from Notre Dame would mean to him, and more.
So, how has his recruitment been going so far? For Akih, it has gone great, and he appreciates the attention he is receiving, which he attributes to his hard work.
“My recruitment has been amazing so far. I just came off a really great legacy football season. I’m very honored and blessed for the attention I’m receiving lately with my recruitment. I’m very happy to see that my hard work is paying off and I’m getting noticed.”
In the recruiting process, it is always important to build a great relationship with the coaches. For Akih, that relationship is just starting progress with Coach Deland McCullough, and he had great things to say.
“I just really started building my relationship with Coach Deland yesterday during my visit. I really enjoyed how our conversation went, and I could definitely see myself playing for him one day. He’s such a great running backs coach, and I know he would help me elevate my game and progress at the next level. I really appreciate or conversations, and it was great to get to talk to him in person.”
There are many different reasons why a specific school would be on a recruit's list, but for Akih, Notre Dame is on his “dream school” list.
“Notre Dame is on my list of dream schools that I would like to attend. Being able to attend a Catholic university like Notre Dame would be amazing, coming from a religious background like I do. My father is a pastor, and I know he would really appreciate me attending a school like Notre Dame that has a strong faith background.”
The culture and greatness of Notre Dame’s history really intrigues Akih, along with the fanbase’s passion and the connection with the coaches.
“The Culture and tradition at Notre Dame is very strong. It has been built upon after many, many historic seasons which I have great admiration for. Also, the ND fanbase is one of the best fanbase’s I’ve ever seen. Watching the passion they have for the team was really cool to see in person. But I would say my favorite part was connecting with running back coach Deland McCullough, he had amazing things to say, and I really appreciated my conversation with him!”
So what was Favour’s favorite part about the trip?
“Seeing the Fighting Irish game-day traditions in person was pretty cool. Watching the players walkout with people and the band playing the bagpipes was also awesome to see. I also got to watch how the players warm up, lock in, and get ready for the game before taking the field. It was an amazing game to watch. Jeremiyah Love really put on a show, and I really loved how he performed.”
Akih mentioned it was an amazing game, which followed by spending time with the players afterwards and getting to pray with them, which really resonated with him.
“The game was amazing! From the opening kickoff, to watching the players recover a muff kickoff return and seeing the stadium go wild, to being with the team in the locker room post game and joining them in their prayers was all such an awesome experience.”
So was his trip special enough to want to come back soon? You better believe it. Favour Akih very much loved what he saw and is eager to get back to Notre Dame.
“I'd love to be down there for a junior day, and any other opportunity I get! GO IRISH!”
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