Notre Dame Recruiting: The Irish Go For Two Good Defensive Backs

Quarterback was Notre Dame's recruiting focus on Monday after the Fighting Irish offered Kamden Lopati and Davin Davidson, and on Wednesday, ND offered a pair of defensive backs out of the Sunshine State in John Gay III and Amare Nugent.

Amare Nugent, Defensive Back (American Heritage High School)

Notre Dame offered ☘️! pic.twitter.com/jzuG53MLLD
— Amare Nugent (@marenuge4_) February 19, 2026

Nugent committed to Florida back in January, but that didn't stop Marcus Freeman and his staff from offering the four-star recruit. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound cornerback is the 13th-ranked cornerback in the nation, 11th-ranked player in the state of Florida, and 105th overall recruit in his class, per 247 Sports.

Nugent has won a State Title each of the last two years for American Heritage and was a menace on the outside. The junior finished with 27 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two interceptions, and two pass breakups, and was even invited to the Navy All-American Bowl after the season.

Nugent is a little short for your prototypical outside corner, which is why I see him playing in the slot if he flips to Notre Dame. Freeman likes to blitz his slot corners, and considering how fast Nugent is, a slot corner role makes sense.

It might take Nugent a year or two to find consistent snaps on defense, making the Florida native a likely special teams guy at first. Notre Dame already has five defensive backs in next year's recruiting class, but with ND's 4-2-5 base defense, there's really no such thing as having too many defensive backs.

Notre Dame is a long shot to flip Nugent, but if Florida struggles under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, there's a chance Nugent decommits.

John Gay III, Defensive Back (Chaminade-Madonna High School)

BLESSED TO RECIEVE A OFFER FROM NOTRE DAME!!! pic.twitter.com/AokAQxWxtP
— John Gay III (@JPG3_) February 18, 2026

Gay III has received just north of 10 offers over the last two months, and Notre Dame is the most recent to offer the junior safety. Gay III led Chaminade-Madonna to its 10th straight State Title Game appearance this fall after finishing with 32 tackles, three tackles for loss, a pick-six, and three pass breakups.

On a team full of Division I recruits, Gay III's national exposure is starting to blossom and rightfully so. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior can really hit and play both "centerfield" and in the box.

Gay III is probably best suited as the boundary safety in ND's defense based on his physicality and tackling skills, but he's athletic enough to play free safety, too. Gay III is an intriguing prospect who's only visited a couple of schools, so if ND gets him on campus and it goes well, Gay III could end up in blue and gold when it's said and done.