Notre Dame Recruiting: What Nolan James Jr.'s Commitment Means for the 2025 Cycle

Notre Dame lands 2025 standout Nolan James Jr. Here's what his commitment means for the Fighting Irish's recruiting class.

DePaul Nolan James Jr. avoids a tackle as he carries ball to left. Red Bank Catholic Football vs. DePaul in NJSIAA Non-Public B Championship game at Met Life Stadium on November 28, 2023. / Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame has made a habit of taking two running backs in recruiting cycles in recent years and it appears it will do it again in this 2025 cycle after adding Nolan James Jr.

The Irish staff flipped James Jr. from Boston College, making him the fourth flip in this cycle that Notre Dame was able to land, with hopefully more coming.

Standing at 5-11, 205 pounds, James Jr. is a powerful back with sneaky shiftyness that often catches defenders off-guard. His upright running style and patience in the hole is not something that is common in today's game, but once he is through the hole his acceleration and elusiveness are noticeable.

James Jr. is the type of athlete with smooth speed that when he is running, it doesn't look as though he is moving all that fast, yet he continues to gain distance between himself and the trailing defenders on his way to the endzone.

Go Irish🍀 #MG🥷🏽 @dpfootball @njaysr @NDFootball @coachdmc pic.twitter.com/YBPnCMjnSK

— Nolan James Jr (@nolan_james1) November 12, 2024

The New Jersey product had been committed to Boston College for nearly a year, before Notre Dame turned up the heat and eventually was able to flip him. Running backs coach Deland McCullough was targeting two backs in this cycle and when former Irish commit Daniel Anderson decommitted, Notre Dame went all-in on James Jr. and never looked back.

He joins Justin Thurman as the two backs for Notre Dame in the 2025 class, a combo that complement each other well. Thurman, one of the first commits in the 2025 cycle, has more straight line speed and home run ability, while James Jr. can earn tough yards between the tackles and rarely goes down on first contact.

Upon speaking with those in touch with the rankings at 247Sports and On3, expect James Jr. to be a big riser before this class is finished. He is currently a three-star athlete, but many expect him to jump into four-star territory, maybe even the high four-star territory, very soon.

Notre Dame should keep flipping Boston College's best commitments each cycle when possible.

Boubacar Traore and Nolan James Jr. look like two good ones.