Notre Dame TE commit Titus Hawk could be the Irish's next two-sport star

Notre Dame’s 2027 recruiting class got a major boost on May 4, when Choctaw (Okla.) High tight end Titus Hawk announced he was picking the Fighting Irish over offers from Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and many others.

Hawk is Notre Dame’s first tight end commitment of the class, and the Irish staff is fired up to have him on the board. They offered him a scholarship last May and treated him like the top priority he was.

“It was ultimately my decision, but we came to it as a family,” Hawk told Blue & Gold about his commitment. “I love how bought in the coaches are. I love Coach [Marcus] Freeman, and I’m excited about their new facilities. It’s awesome up there.”

Hawk, the No. 332 overall prospect and No. 18 tight end nationally according to the 2027 Rivals Industry Ranking, first informed Freeman, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and assistant tight ends coach Harris Bivin of his decision when he called to commit.

“After my family sat down and talked about it for a while, we called them up, and they were fired up,” Hawk added. “It was awesome. I think they were a little surprised, but they probably expected it sooner than later.”

Hawk’s original plan was to take several summer official visits and potentially take his recruitment into the fall as well. However, the time felt right for him to pick the Irish soon after he visited on April 26.

“I knew it was the place for me,” he said. “I feel like I always knew that and wanted to confirm it. I’ll be taking my official visit there this summer, and it’s going to be fun.”

Bivin and Denbrock were key figures in Hawk’s recruitment, playing important roles in leading the four-star prospect to picking the Irish.

“I’ve been building a strong relationship with him for a year now,” Hawk said of Bivin. “He’s a great guy. I’ve visited Notre Dame three times now, and we’ve had great talks on my visits.

“Coach Denbrock is a great coach. He’s shown me things that I’ll be doing in their offense, and I love my fit.”

Hawk’s father, Shane, who played collegiate baseball at Oklahoma State before a professional career, is fired up about sending his son to attend to Notre Dame, especially considering he understands well the importance of the Irish staff’s main recruiting pitch.

“I’m absolutely excited,” the elder Hawk said. “He had several great institutions to choose from, but when you’re talking about a top-tier education, Notre Dame is among the best in the country.

“For someone who experienced having an injury while I was in pro ball and not having a backup plan or having a clue what I wanted to do with my life, it stoked my hunger to make sure to Titus and anyone I coach knows that it’s going to end no matter what, whether you play out your career or not. That’s why my wife, Meredith, and I stressed to him how rare the opportunity he has is.”

Shane Hawk is Choctaw’s head baseball coach, and Bivin and director of recruiting Carter Auman visited to watch one of Titus’ recent baseball games.

“Harris has been great,” Shane Hawk added. “He’s such a high character guy. You can tell that he’s not going to BS you with false information. I always felt he was really honest with us, no matter what. That was all neat about him.

“Carter is awesome. His life is Notre Dame. It’s awesome to see someone like that being so invested in the program and will continue to be invested.”

The rising senior prospect grew up a fan of the Fighting Irish.

“I’ve liked Notre Dame since I was little,” he said. “I don’t remember why I became a fan when I was little, but I followed them growing up. When they offered me last year, it was unreal, and now I’m going to play there. It’s pretty crazy.”

Hawk’s next visit to South Bend will be for his official visit during the weekend of June 19.

“I made a commitment to Notre Dame, and I’m going to honor my word,” he said. “I’m fully locked in.”

Notre Dame’s next two-sport star?

Hawk’s plan is to play both football and baseball for the Fighting Irish. He plays outside and first base and is considered the top baseball player in Oklahoma in the 2027 class.

He plays basketball as well, making him a three-sport athlete. It’s also a big reason why Hawk stands at 215 pounds with his 6-7 frame. He doesn’t have an offseason to add strength and mass to his frame, nor does he have the time to play 7-on-7 ball and work on the technical aspects as a receiver.

“It’s rare to be as talented as he is in one sport, let alone three,” the elder Hawk said. “He’s a unicorn athletically.”

Hawk was QB3 going into his sophomore year with older guys ahead of him on the depth chart, so his father told him to talk to the Choctaw football staff about letting him play a different position. Shane had either wide receiver or a spot somewhere in the front seven in mind.

“He came back to me and said, ‘Dad, I talked to my coach, and I’m going to play tight end.’ And I laughed in his face,” Shane recalled.

Titus weighed 170 pounds prior to his sophomore season, making him quite the slender blocker against bigger defensive ends and linebackers on top teams in 6A Oklahoma ball. And considering Hawk grew up playing quarterback, he hadn’t been tested physically yet.

“He said, ‘No, Dad, I’m ready. I’m ready,’” Shane Hawk recalled.

Titus caught a 17-yard touchdown in his very first game at tight end as a sophomore, and in that contest, he had a run blocking play where he knocked the opposing linebacker’s helmet off.

“Holy cow, he is ready,” the elder Hawk thought at the time. “I was not expecting that. I don’t know what switch flipped, but he is violent. If he’s told to block you, get ready to get hit. He took that mindset to the basketball court, too. He’s like Dennis Rodman out there.”

As a junior, Hawk caught 31 passes for 644 yards and 8 touchdowns, plus 37 rushing yards and a score. He was named Oklahoma Prep Nation’s 2025 tight end of the year.

Hawk’s squad fell in the Oklahoma 6A-II state championship game last fall, but they won it the year prior. He hauled in 20 passes for 365 yards and 7 touchdowns as a sophomore and added a rushing score.

He’s played at the highest possible level he can at the high school level in Oklahoma. Does he get nervous on the big stage?

“He once said, ‘I feel like I was born to do this.’ He has a different mindset,” Hawk said. “A lot of the greats I’ve coached at the high school level have a winning, dominant mindset. Titus has had that since he was born. He was going to win eating dinner or put his shoes on before his siblings did. He’s wired different.”

Hawk is a legit baseball player

Notre Dame baseball isn’t doing the football program a favor by allowing him play for their program as well. He’s a real prospect on the diamond.

“He’s not some guy who Notre Dame is just pleasing by letting him play baseball,” the elder Hawk explained. “He had baseball offers from Oklahoma State and West Virginia. What jump started his Florida football recruitment was the Florida baseball coach. He had offers from Wichita State, Oregon, Duke and North Carolina.

“Baseball isn’t a deal where he’s getting a favor done. He’s told every coach that recruited him is that he intends to play both.”

Playing two sports in college is far from easy, especially with two sports with such high demand to stay sharp. He’s explained to his son that when his football teammates are resting, Titus will have to be in the batting cage.

“He’s never specialized in one sport,” he continued. “For him to compete at the level he does only playing a sport one-third of the time when others do it year-around, I can only imagine his ceiling when he picks one or the other.

“When he gets the meal plan and everything from Notre Dame, he’ll be 220 pounds by the time next August hits. Now you’re talking about another level of an athlete with muscle behind him.”

It’s unlikely that his son will play both sports all four years, which makes sense. Not many athletes can play both sports at a high level and are likely to devote more time to the sport they’re better at later in their career. It also shouldn’t be ruled out that Titus will get selected in the MLB Draft in July and could potentially skip college altogether.

“He’s getting looked at, for sure,” Hawk’s father said. “He’s 6-7, hits left-handed and has power potential if he develops it. If he plays well on the summer circuit, his draft stock would rise right away.”

But as Marcus Freeman often says, “You waste time daydreaming about an uncertain future.” In other words, there’s no need to worry about the MLB Draft when it’s two months away.

Two-sport college athletes typically have a primary and secondary sport, and with football footing the bill, that will have much of his focus, especially when he enrolls next summer.

“I told him that I won’t be disappointed if you just pick football and put your heart and soul into it,” Shane Hawk added. “Right now he wants to do both, but it’s just going to be hard. It’s all time management and rest. And at Notre Dame, you have to work for your education too. He has to earn his grade. Academic prowess is another important part to the puzzle.”