Talented DL Linkin Zylstra Set To Impress At Irish Invasion

Standout 2026 defensive lineman Linkin Zylstra previews Irish Invasion trip to Notre Dame

Notre Dame Recruiting News /

Notre Dame has had a tremendous string of luck tapping into the Canadian pipeline. It started with former wide receiver Chase Claypool, and has begun to become a more frequent occurrence with names like Armel Mukam, Sean Sevillano and Will Black. The next could be 2026 Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More defensive lineman Linkin Zylstra, who will be heading to South Bend for Irish Invasion on Sunday.

This will actually be Zylstra’s second trip to Notre Dame, having taken one with Black a couple of months ago. The early relationship between the talented defensive lineman and the Irish staff is growing, and could balloon quickly with an impressive showing this weekend.

“My relationship has been good in the early stages,” Zylstra told Irish Breakdown. ‘They got me on campus for a visit in the spring and got to see pretty much a full day of practice from meetings to actual practice. My early impressions of Coach (Al) Washington is that he seems like a great coach and cares about his players.”

The 6-3, 285-pound defender is busy camping at various schools and continuing to attract the attention of several bigger programs. He has already set up a camp at Penn State next weekend as well. He’s excited overall to be back in South Bend and hoping to impress the coaches during drills.

“I’m very excited to get back to campus,” Zylstra said. “South Bend is a special place.

“I’m hoping to showcase how dominant I can be in one-on-ones and my work ethic,” he continued. “It’s a great opportunity to impress the coaches and work with them directly.”

So far Zylstra has earned offers from UConn, Temple and UMass. That offer list promises to expand quickly this offseason, with a big junior year in front of him. There are several big time schools that are keeping close tabs on him, including the Irish.

“Recruiting is going well so far,” he said. “I’m going to a bunch of camps and just keep trying to get my name out there. As far as schools who have stood out, it is hard to say but a couple schools that have are Notre Dame, Penn State and Stanford.”

Will Zylstra leave this weekend with an offer from Notre Dame? It will depend how well he performs for the Irish staff but clearly there is intrigue. Only time will tell where things go from there.

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