Notre Dame Will Look To Make A Move With Running Back James Simon

For the second time, and first since the USC game last season, 2025 Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist star running back James Simon will be returning to Notre Dame on Tuesday and staying through Wednesday. Back in March, Simon included the Irish among his top schools list, along with Alabama, Texas, LSU, Miami, Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech. 

Notre Dame has a chance to make a move with Simon, who is a bit of a long shot to the Irish currently. This visit will determine if they are in it until the end, but the Irish staff has done a tremendous job pushing for him so far. 

“I feel good about Notre Dame,” Simon told Irish Breakdown. “I talk with them very often and the relationship is strong. "I'm excited to see what they have in store for me football wise and me as a player there. I've seen the campus and everything before, so this is really about getting to see how I fit with the program and their plan for me.”

We are nearing the end of Simon’s recruitment, who does want to make a decision sometime this offseason. That makes this upcoming visit so crucial. Notre Dame will need to earn an official visit from Simon to have a chance, and that could be determined by this return trip. 

“Recruiting has been really good, just blessed honestly,” he explained. “There really isn’t a leader for me. I like them all pretty evenly. After this week, I’m going to try and wind it down to as small of a group as I can. If the visit goes well, Notre Dame can get down to the final group. It really depends on what I see and what they say to me.”

Simon is rated as a four-star recruit by every major recruiting platform. He is rated highest on the On3 ranking, pegging him as the No. 116 overall player and No. 8 running back in the 2025 recruiting class. Each ranking outside of Rivals has Simon ranked as a top six overall player in the state of Louisiana. 

The 6-0, 195-pound running back has been garnering interest from an assortment of premier programs. Some of his notable offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Alabama, USC, Texas, Florida, LSU, Miami, Tennessee, Penn State, TCU, Oregon, Florida State, Auburn, Washington, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Mississippi State, Colorado, Missouri, Houston, Cal and Arizona among others.

Simon was tremendous as a junior, a part of a state championship Calvary Baptist squad. In 14 games, the talented rusher exploded for 1,600 yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging 8.3 yards per carry. Simon also hauled in 20 receptions for 214 yards and three more scores through the air. 

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