Notre Dame Has A Chance For An Elite Secondary Class

Recruiting the secondary has been an up-and-down affair for Notre Dame for years, but things are starting to change in South Bend. Notre Dame is starting to put more DBs into the NFL, but the onfield product the last two seasons has played a huge role as well.

Notre Dame finished the 2023 season with the nation's best pass efficiency defense and tied with Michigan for the fewest touchdown passes allowed. The Irish also ranked second in lowest completion percentage allowed, second in passing yards allowed, third in fewest yards allowed per game, third in lowest yards allowed per attempt and 10th in interceptions.

Safety Xavier Watts was named a unanimous All-American, and it's the second time in three seasons Notre Dame had an All-American safety (Kyle Hamilton). Cornerback Benjamin Morrison was a freshman All-American in 2022 and is expected to once again be one of the nation's best corners in 2024.

Notre Dame is starting to turn that on-field success into big time success on the recruiting trail. Cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens has been thriving on the trail for multiple seasons, and safeties coach Chris O'Leary just landed back-to-back quality safety classes.

The 2025 class could see the greatest benefit from the recent pass defense success. In fact, Notre Dame has a chance to land an elite secondary class in the 2025 cycle, one that has the depth of talent the program has not landed in a very long time.

CORNERBACK RECRUITING

Notre Dame landed two cornerbacks in the 2022, 2023 and 2024 classes, and each group added impressive talent to the roster. Morrison was part of the 2022 class, and 2022 signee Jaden Mickey will battle 2023 signee Christian Gray for a starting role next season, but both will play a ton. Fellow 2023 signee Micah Bell is the team's fastest player and has a bright future. The 2024 class (Leonard Moore, Karson Hobbs) was yet another strong group of cornerbacks.

The 2025 class has a chance to be the best group yet, and not just because the group of potential prospects is incredibly talented. Notre Dame is also expected to take three cornerbacks in this class.

Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy Prep standout Cree Thomas is already in the class after committing back in November. Thomas is a smooth cornerback with impressive length, and he brings some positional flexibility to the class.

Notre Dame is hosting two incredibly talented cornerbacks this weekend for its Junior Day, and if a "dream class" was to happen for the Irish in the 2025 class it would include both Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery.

Golden is a standout at Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep, dominating on both sides of the ball. He has played both cornerback and safety for Berkeley Prep and he's a dominant wide receiver that also gets a lot of touches in the run game. Golden is an elite football player that combines big time athleticism with a tremendous feel for the game.

Golden grades out as a Top 50 recruit on the Irish Breakdown board, and landing him would be an absolute coup for Mickens and the defensive staff.

Zackery is an in-state star, dominating on the gridiron and hardwood for Indianapolis Ben Davis. He's long, athletic, explosive and his game took a big jump during his junior season. Zackery turned into a big-time playmaker as a junior, and he grades out as a Top 100 recruit on the IB board.

Adding both Golden and Zackery will require a lot of hard work, but the Irish staff - led by Mickens and Chad Bowden - have put themselves in great position with both heading into this weekend's visit.

Notre Dame is also recruiting Buford (Ga.) High School cover man Devin Williams, who was also supposed to be on campus this weekend before weather forced him to cancel his trip. He's been to Notre Dame before and Mickens has helped make the Irish a major player in his recruitment.

Notre Dame needs to add two of Golden, Zackery and Williams into the class to go with Thomas. A trio of Thomas and two of the three corners mentioned above would be the best cornerback class in years. It would be even better than the outstanding group from 2016 that included Julian Love, Troy Pride and Donte Vaughn Jr.

SAFETY RECRUITING

Notre Dame absolutely needs an elite safety class in 2025. The position has upgraded lately, with a strong group of Adon Shuler, Ben Minch and Luke Talich jumping on board in 2023, and a trio of Brauntae Johnson, Kennedy Urlacher and Taebron Bennie-Powell in the 2024 class.

Notre Dame needs to continue adding good depth, but more importantly it needs to add more impact talent on the backend. This is especially true with Notre Dame set to lose Watts after the 2024 season.

Landing Ivan Taylor and Ethan Long was a great start for Notre Dame.

Taylor is one of the nation's best safeties, grading out as a Top 100 recruit on the IB board and ranking as the nation's No. 30 overall prospect according to ESPN and No. 35 according to 247Sports. The Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange star is an athletic cover player and a quality tackler, and the best part is he will continue getting better and better. Taylor reminds me a lot of Watts as a safety, and while safety is clearly his best position, he has skills that could thrive in the slot as well.

Long is a long, fluid athlete that has a ton of on-ball production at the prep level. He has the range to play the middle of the field, but he's more than willing to come down into the alley. The Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick School standout is a good tackler, and as he fills out he'll become an even more effective hitter.

Taylor and Long fit well together in many ways, but the best part about them as a one-two punch is they both can do everything Notre Dame wants at both safety positions. This gives Notre Dame a chance to be more multiple in how it uses its safeties when both are on the field.

Notre Dame is not done recruiting the safety position, and the Irish staff is still pushing very hard for Winston Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor star JaDon Blair. I recently broke down why Blair is the final key to the safety. class. His combination of size (6-4), range and playmaking ability is special. Blair grades out as a Top 100 recruit on the IB board, but his upside is enormous.

Landing Blair will be a challenge, but the Irish are making a hard push.

A class with Taylor, Long and Thomas is certainly a good start, but the key is who else does the staff add to that group. That will determine if this is another good secondary class, or if this class can be the elite unit that it can - and should - become.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2024 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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