Notre Dame football is looking for an elite 2026 safety to pair with current commitment Ayden Pouncey.
The player at the top of that list is Pennsylvania’s Joey O’Brien, who on Wednesday night cut his list down to just four schools: Oregon, Penn State, Clemson and the Irish as On3’s Hayes Fawcett announced. The nation’s No. 64 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings also set his commitment date for June 20th, just 15 days away.
At one point in O’Brien’s recruitment, it very much looked like he was a Notre Dame lean, but it seems like he very much enjoyed his recent official visits to see the Nittany Lions and Tigers have put a wrench into that thinking.
He will take ann official to see the Ducks this coming weekend, but the good news is that the Irish get the last shot with O’Brien heading to South Bend starting on June 13th. With the Irish getting a last shot at impressing the 4-star, it could bode well with his decision a week later.
It doesn’t always work out that way, but Notre Dame has put themselves in a great position to land O’Brien later this month.
This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Top 2026 Notre Dame safety target Joey O’Brien narrows list to four, sets commitment date
Reporting by Michael Chen , Fighting Irish Wire / Fighting Irish Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
