Notre Dame Is Building A Strong Bond With Florida Running Back Javian Mallory

Since Deland McCullough came to Notre Dame, the Irish program has been recruiting and developing the running back position about as well as anyone in all of college football. On Monday, Coach McCullough made it out to see 2026 Boca Raton (Fla.) West star Javian Mallory, who is one of the top runners in the class.

He had the chance to spend some time at the school, and continue to develop a deeper relationship with everyone around Mallory. He also got a chance to see a live practice, which Mallory was pumped about.

"The visit went very well,” Mallory told Irish Breakdown. "Coach McCullough got to spend some time at the school. He also got to see me live in action.

"The spring has been going really good,” he continued. "The team is getting better by the day and we’re building that chemistry with the new transfers. We have our spring game on May 13th, and we are all excited.”

Notre Dame has made quite an impression on the Florida star, so much so that they are a school he is planning a trip to. The summer travel schedule is going to be busy but South Bend is a place he really wants to see.

"This summer I want to get to Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Penn State, Ohio State and Florida State,” he said. "That’s my plan. There aren’t any firm dates yet but those are schools I really want to get to see.”

Getting Mallory to South Bend would be huge for the Irish staff. Things are in a very solid spot so far, especially having not taken a visit yet. Mallory has been doing his best to navigate what can be a very chaotic recruiting landscape.

"Recruiting has been going good,” explained Mallory. "I have been meeting different people, coaches and athletes throughout the process. It has been great.

"Right now I can say I'm just trying to be consistent in calling these coaches and building relationships with them, because as you know they can’t reach out to me first until June,” Mallory added. “My role models around me do a great job at making sure everything is balanced and I’m not overwhelming myself throughout this process because it can get stressful.”

With more school visits on the horizon, things are going to move fast for Mallory. Notre Dame has made a very good early impact, and that should only improve once he makes the trip up North.

Some premier programs in all of college football have already taken early notice of Mallory. Despite only being a sophomore, he already holds an extremely impressive offer list. Some of the top teams to offer so far include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, Miami, USC, Oregon, Florida State, Penn State, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wisconsin, UCF, West Virginia, Louisville, Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Indiana among others.

So far 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals all have Mallory ranked as a four-star recruit. The Florida native is currently pegged as the No. 231, No. 206 and No. 109 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class respectively.

As a sophomore, Mallory turned in an incredible season for West Boca Raton. In 11 games played, the 5-11, 195-pound runner exploded for 1,415 yards and 18 touchdowns. Mallory did so on just 131 carries, averaging an absurd 10.8 yards per carry and averaged 128.6 yards per game. He also hauled in another 22 receptions for 438 yards and six touchdowns through the air, making his impact felt as a pass receiver as well. 

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