Four-star running back Isaiah Rogers made an abrupt decision to announce his commitment on Monday, March 30. While Penn State was in the mix to land the Class of 2027 recruit, but ultimately fell short.
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Rogers is the 197th ranked recruit in his class and 10th among running backs, per Rivals Industry Ranking. He's also deemed the No. 2 prospect from Massachusetts.
Four-star RB Isaiah Rogers commits to Notre Dame over Penn State
On Monday afternoon, he made his decision with Notre Dame, Georgia, and Indiana on the table alongside the Nittany Lions. It was a done deal before his commitment time even came about.
“No place like South Bend, I’m home!” Rogers said, according to Hayes Fawcett of On3.
The Fighting Irish always had the upper hand in Rogers' recruitment. After he visited Notre Dame on March 21 for its Junior Day, the Springfield, Mass. native knew where home was for the next four years. Unfortunately for Penn State, it's not Happy Valley.
“The visit really opened my eyes to a lot of things,” Rogers told Blue & Gold. “Not just for football, but after football — the networking and the Notre Dame degree.
“I just felt like the time was right . . . I didn’t need to keep going through my recruitment because I felt like I found home.”
Rogers specifically mentioned former Penn State running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider as a big reason why the Fighting Irish stuck out.
"Coach Seider has developed backs from Penn State and even now at Notre Dame," Rogers said. "It’s not a question of whether I’m going to be developed and competing for a national championship. They do that every year."
Seider left Penn State after the 2024 season. He was the blue and white's assistant head coach, co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. When joining the Fighting Irish in 2025, he became their new associate head coach and running backs coach.
Seider helped develop Nittany Lion rushers Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton while in Happy Valley, both of waiting to hear their names called at the 2026 NFL Draft.