Notre Dame Football 2024: Which States Produce the Most Fighting Irish Players?

The 2024 Fighting Irish football roster includes players from 30 different states and three foreign countries. Which U.S states will be best represented this fall? Rich Cirminiello lays it out below.

Rich Cirminiello | Aug 12, 2024

Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli looks for an open receiver during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame is college football's ultimate melting pot, going far and wide to assemble a roster. The Fighting Irish have no geographic boundaries, the byproduct of brand recognition and athletic and academic excellence. South Bend, like Annapolis, West Point, and the Air Force Academy, is one of the uniquely special places in college sports, and the 2024 roster footprint reflects it.

Head coach Marcus Freeman has built a diverse and talent-rich team, with representatives from 30 U.S. states and three foreign countries. Freeman and his staff have racked up frequent flyer miles to build this current team. But which states have produced the most Fighting Irish players?

States With the Most Notre Dame Players

California (12)

The Fighting Irish have a long and rich history of mining talent out of California, one of the nation's hotbeds of blue-chippers. Five-star LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa played for perennial powerhouse St. John's Bosco.

Illinois & Ohio (8)

Notre Dame may be a national programs, but it's stayed true to its midwest roots with eight players apiece from Illinois and Ohio, with concentrations in Cincinnati and the Chicago suburb of Glen Ellyn.

Indiana, New Jersey & North Carolina (7)

Testament to ND's broad appeal and reach, it has seven players from its home state as well as talent-rich New Jersey and North Carolina, states that maximum attention from Big Ten, ACC, and SEC schools.

Massachusetts, Michigan & Texas (6)

Texas and Michigan? No surprise. Massachusetts? Shocker since Mass has never been known as a football hotbed. The Irish landed two young stars from Boston's Catholic Memorial, true freshman OL Guerby Lambert and second-year DL Boubacar Traore.

Florida, Pennsylvania & Virginia (5)

The Fighting Irish planted its flag in three crucial states for every major program, getting a mix of high school recruits and ready-made transfers from Florida, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Georgia, International & Missouri (4)

How far reaching is Notre Dame's appeal? Four players on the 2024 roster grew up overseas, Armel Mukam and Devan Houston are Canadian, James Rendell is Australian, and Charles Du hails from Beijing, China.

Arizona, Louisiana & Nebraska (3)

The Irish have gained a nice foothold in Omaha, with three players from the city, including All-American safety Xavier Watts.

Hawaii, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island & Tennessee (2)

Notre Dame's swing of dominance through the Northeast continues with a pair of players from Rhode Island, the smallest state in the union.

Alabama, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Wisconsin & Wyoming (1)

New QB Riley Leonard is from Fairhope, AL. Meanwhile, the Irish beat out a bunch of ACC and SEC schools for Hilton Head Island LB Jaylen Sneed, who's set for a breakout third season.