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Notre Dame looks to seize recruiting momentum in shifting safety storyline

Tom Lemming scoured his mental rolodex on Tuesday, groping for some historical context that would properly frame what Notre Dame football’s defensive back recruiting in the 2026 cycle could turn into.

“Best ever at Notre Dame?” the longtime college football recruiting analyst said in his first stab at it.

“Best in a very long time,” he annotated, qualifying that some of the best secondaries in the Lou Holtz Era had pieces converted from other position groups boosting them.

Wherever that hyperbole lands, the hypothetical it’s describing has a chance on Friday to take a huge strut toward reality, when four-star safety Joey O’Brien makes his college decision.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound rising senior at Philadelphia LaSalle College High has narrowed the field to four finalists — Notre Dame, Penn State, Clemson and Oregon. His took an official visit to ND this past weekend.

The Irish already have two DB commitments in the 2026 class — four-star safety Ayden Pouncey of Florida and four-star cornerback Chaston Smith from Tennessee. … And are pushing for as many as three more.

“Adding Joey O’Brien to what they already have would be massive,” Lemming said. “He’s another lengthy, very athletic safety. He’s a Notre Dame type of kid — very well-spoken, very athletic, very mature for his age.

“He kind of reminds me of [Notre Dame DB recruiting target] Khary Adams who I just saw on my travels, but Adams is a corner. I think they both have first-round potential.”

First-round as in NFL Draft pick first-round potential.

Which is quite an elevated narrative considering how Notre Dame went a decade (2009-2018 recruiting cycles) in which it signed a total of 21 high school safety prospects with just two of them being drafted in any round to play in the NFL.

And neither of them was drafted as a safety.

C.J. Prosise evolved into wide receiver, then to running back, while Drue Tranquill moved from safety to rover and then to inside linebacker. Both were three-star prospects coming out of high school.

What’s changed in the past few cycles?

“Two words,” Lemming said. “Mike Mickens. That’s it.”

Mickens is the longest-tenured continuous member of the Notre Dame football coaching staff, heading into his sixth year with the Irish. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, heading into year No. 2 under head coach Marcus Freeman, has MIckens beat if you also count his two previous tours of duty with the Irish — under Tyrone Willingham (2002-04) and Brian Kelly (2010-16).

Mickens has spent his last two seasons coaching safeties and cornerbacks after coaching only corners in 2020-22.

Notre Dame has led the nation in pass-efficiency defense each of the past two seasons, and joins Miami (2001-02) as the only schools to win that statistical title in consecutive seasons since PED replaced passing yards allowed in 1990 as the new measuring stick for gauging the effectiveness of a pass defense.

“The on-field success helps Mickens for sure in recruiting,” Lemming said. “But it’s the combination of performance on the field along with his perseverance and personality. That’s really big.

“He’s their recruiting MVP. Notre Dame has got to do whatever they can to keep him there.

He’s a head coach-in-waiting for sure. I think it’ll be a matter of time until he gets a coordinator job first and then he’ll be a head coach. His recruiting ability is through the roof. Notre Dame fans should appreciate him while he’s there.”

Mickens got passed over for the Irish defensive coordinator vacancy this past winter, when Al Golden left after three years to become the DC for the Cincinnati Bengals. Freeman ended up replacing him with Chris Ash, who has college experience as both a head coach and defensive coordinator and recent NFL assistant coaching experience.

“For me, when I make decisions, it’s more about what does this program need at that moment?,” Freeman said. “And I believe at that moment, we needed Chris Ash, because of the traits that he brings to this program — the traits that we lost versus the traits that we wanted to bring in. That’s what went into that decision.

“So, Mick is going to have a huge role. But that’s based off the confidence that he’s been able to gain out of Chris Ash.”

On the field, in the meeting room and on the recruiting trail.

Adams, a four-star cornerback from Maryland with safety size and potential if he wanted to change lanes, visited the Irish last weekend and came away impressed. The Irish remain involved as well with safety Nick Reddish, a three-star prospect from North Carolina.

“If Notre Dame can build on this recruiting momentum and improve it in a couple of other position groups,” Lemming said, “I think they could be on the verge of a national championship.”

Notre Dame finally escaped the safety recruiting desert when it signed four-star prospect and future NFL first-rounder Kyle Hamilton in 2019. And on his very first practice that August, the June enrollee picked off quarterback Phil Jurkovec three times.

It proved not to be a fluke.

Meanwhile, development at the position had been strong post-defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder’s in-season purge in 2016. But until recently it was more about adapting players from other positions and finding diamonds in the rough and hitting the transfer portal with regularity before the recent recruiting surge elevated that formula even more.

All of those were in play on Notre Dame’s three College Football Playoff teams — two-star prospect at Navy transfer Alohi Gilman starting and starring on the 2018 CFP team, converted cornerback Shaun Crawford paired with Hamilton on the 2020 CFP participant, and former three-star wide receiver Xavier Watts an All-America safety on the 2024 national runner-up.

Watts’ sidekick, junior Adon Shuler, will be surrounded by as deep a safety group as the Irish have had — in quality, not just quantity — in at least the last five Irish coaching regimes.

Yes, ND in this offseason cycle, added a grad transfer in former Virginia Tech standout Jalen Stroman — and at nickel too in former Alabama DB Devonta Smith. But there’s a bounty of young, ascending options to go with them.

The consistent recruiting roll at the position started with current sophomore Tae Johnson highlighting the 2024 safety class, with early enrollees JaDon Blair and Ethan Long standouts in the 2025 class.

The 6-4 Hamilton, who stars for the Baltimore Ravens, has played a role too — by example and by making himself available to take calls from Irish safety prospects. The 6-5 Blair, for instance, was moved by how Hamilton saw so many similarities between the two physically and what Blair’s potential could be.

“I really liked Blair and Long as recruits,” Lemming said, noting June=enrolling two-sport aspirant Brandon Logan was part of that safety class too. “But if Mickens can close strong, this is really something to be excited about.”

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