Notre Dame football just took a crucial step toward flipping a dynamic defender from an SEC foe
Notre Dame football just received some great 2027 recruiting news. Will they be able to take advantage of it?
Notre Dame football has been recruiting and developing the secondary at an extremely high level under head coach Marcus Freeman. The majority of that credit goes to former secondary coach Mike Mickens, and now Aaron Henry is hoping to continue that momentum on the back end. The 2027 recruiting class has a chance to be another elite group.
Freeman and Co. currently hold commitments from Xavier Hasan, Ace Alston, John Gay III, and Zayden Gamble, which is already a tremendous class. There is a desire to bring in one more talented defensive back, and Manvel (Texas) High School star Karnell “Greedy” James is a player to keep a close eye on. While James is still committed to Texas, he has shown a lot of interest in Notre Dame and has already visited South Bend this offseason.
James will be heading back to campus for an official visit on June 12-14. If that trip goes well, I believe that the Irish staff has a strong chance to pull off a flip. Notre Dame will also be hosting Miami (Fla.) North Miami Beach safety Andre Hyppolite on June 16-18, which could end up being some good insurance, depending on how things go with James.
Karnell “Greedy” James’ recruiting background
From a recruiting rankings perspective, James isn’t going to blow anyone away. He is currently considered to be a three-star player by each of the major recruiting platforms, the exception being 247 Sports, which has him rated as the No. 26 safety in the class.
On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, James is currently pegged as the No. 477 overall player, the No. 47 safety, and the No. 64 player from the state of Texas for the 2027 recruiting class. When you consider his offer list and overall talent, the ranking for James does leave some pretty puzzled, even if his rankings have been trending upward.
James has seen his offer list continue to expand, even after being committed to the Longhorns on December 3 of last year. Some of his top offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, LSU, Florida, Texas A&M, Florida State, Texas Tech, Utah, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, TCU, Arizona State, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Houston, Baylor, Cal, SMU, Wisconsin, Oregon State, and Washington State, among others.
As a junior, James put together a tremendous season for Manvel. In 12 games, the 6-0, 175-pound cover man managed to collect 53 total tackles, two interceptions, and six pass breakups. James also recovered a fumble while returning two punts for touchdowns. This is a fast and fluid athlete who possesses a ton of upside.