Notre Dame football news: Irish beat out Oregon, Texas A&M for top-20 EDGE recruit

Notre Dame scored a defensive recruiting win in the 2028 class on Monday afternoon, as edge rusher Darieon Prescott announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish over finalists Oregon and Texas A&M. The Bolingbrook (Illinois) standout revealed his decision during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show after making visits to all three finalists in June.

Prescott is regarded as one of the premier defensive prospects in the 2028 recruiting cycle. ESPN ranks the 6-foot-4, 250-pound defender as the No. 36 overall recruit in the ESPN Junior 300 and the No. 7 edge rusher nationally. The Rivals Industry Ranking lists him as the No. 18 overall prospect, the No. 5 edge rusher and the top player in Illinois, while the 247Sports Composite also places him No. 18 overall and No. 5 among edge rushers. Separately, 247Sports ranks him No. 7 overall, No. 3 at edge and No. 2 in Illinois.

Prescott emerged as a national prospect after an outstanding sophomore season at Bolingbrook High School. He finished with 65 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss, 26 quarterback pressures, five sacks, eight pass breakups, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks. A three-sport athlete, he was initially offered by former Notre Dame assistant Al Washington before building a strong relationship with first-year defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who served as his lead recruiter.

Prescott becomes the third commitment in the Fighting Irish’s 2028 recruiting class, joining safety Andre Jones and kicker Owen Davies. His commitment continues Notre Dame’s recent success recruiting elite defensive linemen.

The Irish already hold six defensive line commitments in the 2027 class, including David Folorunsho, Abraham Sesay, Jackson Vaughn, Aidan O’Neil, Segun Alexander and Brayden Parks. Notre Dame’s 2027 class currently ranks No. 2 in ESPN’s recruiting rankings with 17 ESPN 300 commitments.