Bad News for Notre Dame Fighting Irish football in Race for Five-Star Safety Recruit

The nation's top-rated overall athlete in the 2027 recruiting cycle is set to make his college decision, and that likely means he's not choosing Notre Dame.

Honor Fa’alave-Johnson, a safety from San Diego (Cathedral Catholic), California, announced on Monday that he will be announcing his college decision this coming Saturday.

Notre Dame has been involved in his recruitment, and was set to host the star safety later this year, but all signs point to him choosing against Notre Dame.

Honor Fa’alave-Johnson's Final Schools

Johnson announced Monday that he will make his college choice public on Saturday and listed six finalists for his talents: Miami, USC, Texas, LSU, Oregon, and Notre Dame.

However, Johnson may have tipped his hand a little bit regarding the program he is going to announce.

NEWS: Five-Star Safety Honor Fa’alave-Johnson is down to 6 Schools, he tells me for @Rivals

The 6’1 190 S from San Diego, CA is ranked as the No. 1 Safety in the ‘27 Class (per Rivals Industry)

Where Should He Go? https://t.co/SjP0pSNlT3 pic.twitter.com/ZZ4sqrATrs
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 11, 2026

Johnson spoke to Rivals on Monday and shared that the school he plans to commit to only wants a public commitment if he plans to shut down his recruiting. As a result, it would appear Notre Dame's chances of landing his talents are next to none.

You may recall that Notre Dame would try to enforce a no-visit policy for its recruiting commitments under former general manager Chad Bowden. Bowden of course left following the 2024 season for USC and now has the same rules in place there.

With USC being up the road from Johnson and the Trojans being all over his recruiting, the odds-on favorite would appear to be them. Stranger things have certainly happened in college football recruiting over the years but the math here certainly appears to add up.

What's Next for Notre Dame Defensive Back Recruiting?

Where will Notre Dame go from here regarding 2027 recruiting at the safety position?

The good news is that Notre Dame is already in very good shape in its defensive backfield for the class. Of its seven current commitments in the cycle, three are in the defensive backfield.

Xavier Hasan of North Carolina (cornerback), Ace Alston of Cincinnati (cornerback), and safety Khalil Terry of California (safety) make up that trifecta, but Notre Dame will look to add more on that part of the field.

Marcus Freeman and Lincoln Riley in 202 — Oct 14, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman chat before the game at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish may have a hat on the table for when Johnson makes his announcement on Saturday, but it would certainly appear that an old rival of the Fighting Irish are about to land one of the biggest prospects in the class.

Now, let's just hope Johnson will get to compete against Notre Dame during his time at USC.