There’s a new Notre Dame linebacker target to know for the Fighting Irish following the decommitment of Ellis McGaskin
There is a potential linebacker replacement to know for Notre Dame following the Ellis McGaskin decommitment.
Notre Dame football received some bad news on Friday when 2027 Mobile (Ala.) Williamson linebacker Ellis McGaskin opted to decommit. Over the last few months, the 6-0, 205-pound defender had shown a ton of interest in other programs. That included visits to LSU and Mississippi State during the season, and a couple more that are going to be taken in the future, as well. McGaskin was clearly open to other opportunities, so this decision shouldn’t have been overly shocking to Fighting Irish fans based on the actions.
While losing McGaskin is a blow to the Notre Dame 2027 class, there are some other impressive options already on the board. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish also added another to the board on Friday with Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout linebacker Josiah Poyer. If the school sounds familiar, that is the same one that once gave Notre Dame standout Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. The early vibes between Poyer and the Irish are promising, so it’ll be interesting to see what comes next.
Getting Poyer to visit South Bend is going to be paramount. He isn’t the biggest linebacker in the world, similar to McGaskin, but Poyer is an instinctive athlete with nice overall athleticism. Freeman and Co. have shown that they have a strong eye for linebacker talent. Clearly, Poyer has also caught their eye, so he is a player to keep close tabs on.
Josiah Poyer’s recruiting background
Poyer is currently considered to be a three-star player by each of the major recruiting platforms. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the California native is rated as the No. 586 overall player, the No. 49 linebacker, and the No. 61 player from the state of California for the 2027 recruiting class. Poyer’s recruiting rankings are expected to continue to climb, especially heading into his senior season.
Over the last couple of months, Poyer’s offer list has continued to expand. Some of his top offers so far include the Fighting Irish, Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, Arizona State, Arizona, and UCLA, among others. If the offseason has been any indicator, everyone should expect that offer list to continue to populate heading into next season.
As a junior in 2025, Poyer became a really important player for a talented defense. The 6-1, 225-pound defender managed to collect 54 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and seven sacks. Poyer was also able to record two pass breakups and a fumble recovery.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish News
Notre Dame football and HC Marcus Freeman just received some bad news about an early recruiting victory
Notre Dame football just received some bad news on the recruiting trail.
