Notre Dame Flashes Two Strengths in Landing Five-Star Darieon Prescott

Notre Dame landed an elite defensive line recruit from Chicago on Thursday, when four-star tackle Brayden Parks announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish over Oregon.

While that put a bow on defensive line recruiting for 2027, Notre Dame went and did essentially the very same thing on Monday for the 2028 recruiting cycle as Darieon Prescott of the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook announced his commitment on The Pat McAfee Show.

That commitment continues Notre Dame's impressive run on two important fronts as the recruiting focus begins to shift to the 2028 cycle.

Notre Dame Lands Elite Defensive Line Prospect in Darieon Prescott

Notre Dame continued its hot streak in defensive line recruiting with the commitment of Prescott, who some rank as a five-star prospect in the 2028 cycle.

247Sports ranks him as the seventh overall player in the 2028 cycle, and third-best edge defender in the class. The 247Sports composite isn't quite as high, but still extremely high on him, ranking Prescott as the 18th overall player in the cycle and fifth-best edge.

CONGRATULATIONS @Cfkprescott 👏#PMSLive https://t.co/Jjp498EjIx pic.twitter.com/kBfSwIKtrj
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 27, 2026

Prescott checks in at 6-4, 255-pounds and as a high school sophomore, recorded 65 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 26 pressures, five sacks, three forced fumbles, a pair of fumble recoveries, and two blocked kicks.

Prescott helped lead Bolingbrook to an Elite Eight appearance in the IHSA Playoffs.

This is truly one of the top defensive line recruits in the country and gives Notre Dame an incredible foundation for 2028, after it pulled in a monster defensive line haul in the 2027 cycle.

If you've read my stuff before or heard me talk, you understand how much I desire Notre Dame to have a downright nasty defensive line. The recruiting run it has been on under new position coach Charlie Partridge has set the Fighting Irish up to have exactly that for the foreseeable future.

Notre Dame Stays Hot in Chicagoland Area

The second significant point regarding the Prescott commitment is that Notre Dame is making a major dent in Chicagoland recruiting again.

Just how much weight Notre Dame carried in Chicago and its suburbs in recent years has been very much up for discussion, but its incredibly hard to argue with what it has done there of late.

The 2027 class has seen Chicago kids David Folorunsho (four-star defensive tackle), Parks (four-star defensive tackle), and Roman Igewbuike (four-star linebacker) all choose Notre Dame.

Prescott might not technically be a Chicago kid like those three, but when there is a talent like that not even 100 miles away, it becomes important to win more of those recruiting battles than you lose. While it hadn't been the case a whole lot in recent years, Notre Dame is making its recruiting impact in Illinois be felt again.

#GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/5VEWMkAk1Y
— Charlie Partridge (@CoachPartridge) July 27, 2026

From the 2018 through 2024 recruiting classes, Notre Dame landed a total of eight players from the Land of Lincoln.

For comparison, following Prescott's commitment on Monday, Notre Dame has landed eight commitments from Illinois during the 2025 through 2028 (which remains very much wide open for more).

Ultimately, talent is talent wherever it comes from, but when you have what has traditionally been a pipeline state turning out star players like Illinois has been, it's incredibly important for Notre Dame to capitalize, and it certainly appears to be doing so of late.

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