Irish Breakdown

Notre Dame Offers Wyatt Smith and Several Elite Recruits

Notre Dame offered four high school recruits on Thursday, including one five-star prospect.
Jared Shlensky|
Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman arrives at the stadium to coach the Fighting Irish against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Nov 15, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman arrives at the stadium to coach the Fighting Irish against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame did better than most expected in the transfer portal, but Marcus Freeman and his staff have turned their focus to the high school landscape after offering four recruits this week, including a five-star recruit

Wyatt Smith, Defensive Lineman (St. Thomas Aquinas High School)

When it comes to high school football programs, not many, if any, can stack up to St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. St. Thomas won its seventh straight state title this year and consistently produces some of the best high school players in the country.

And on Thursday, Notre Dame offered one of St. Thomas's many stars in junior defensive endWyatt Smith. Smith, led St. Thomas with 115 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 13 sacks this year and is slowly but surely gaining more and more national attention.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound defensive lineman has 15 offers, including multiple from Big Ten schools. Smith's explosive first step is what stands out on tape.

Smith, who plays defensive end in St. Thomas's 4-3 base defense, could potentially grow into a defensive tackle down the road, but I see him as a prototypical defensive end.

Brayton Feister, Athlete (Akron High School)

Out of the four players on this list, Feister is arguably the most versatile. Feister plays middle linebacker and running back at Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron, Ohio, and had a monster junior year.

In 12 games, Feister racked up 133 tackles, 39 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, four forced fumbles, two interceptions and scored two defensive touchdowns. And he was equally as good on offense as a running back, rushing for nearly 1,100 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Even though Feister is listed as an athlete, his upside is as an inside linebacker in college. He has the size to play the position at 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, and more importantly, the speed and the instincts.

Feister is going to be tough to get through. As of Thursday, the No. 10 athlete in the nation has 30 total offers, including one from the reigning national champion Indiana Hoosiers and last year's national champ, Ohio State.

Tyler Alexander, Defensive Lineman (Palm Beach Central High School)

Just like Smith, Tyler Alexander is also a defensive lineman from Florida.

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound defensive tackle led the Palm Beach Central defense with 20 tackles for loss and was second on the team with 2.5 sacks.

Alexander has an explosive punch off the snap and a solid swim move too. Alexander has good speed too and is really good at using his hands. Depending on how much he grows over the next couple of years, Alexander very well could be an ideal nose tackle in a 3-4 scheme.

After ND's most recent offer, Alexander has over 20 offers, four of which are from SEC schools.

A'mir Sears, Athlete (Columbus High School)

Of all four of the recruits on this list, Sears is the top rated. Sears is a five-star recruit who is ranked the top cornerback in the nation for his class.

As a sophomore at Columbus High School in Miami, Smith was simply a lockdown corner on the outside who gave opposing quarterbacks and offensive coaches nightmares. And he showed that at a seven-on-seven this week as well.

Sears has great instincts and even better length for a corner at 6-foot-1. Smith has over 40 scholarship offers from all the top schools, so Notre Dame has an uphill battle ahead of them if they're going to him.

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster

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