John Dirksen committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on March 25, 2017 as a member of the 2018 recruiting class. Dirksen chose the Irish over offers from Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt. He held a 3-star ranking per 247Sports. Dirksen was rated as the 21st best player in the state of Ohio, 42nd best offensive tackle, and 515th best player nationally in the class of 2018. He attended Marion Local High School, and his hometown is Maria Stein, Ohio. Dirksen currently stands 6’5’’ and weighs 206 pounds.