Notre Dame football has an extremely important stretch of 2027 recruiting beginning later this week. With the official visitor season set to kick off, head Coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish will be hosting a long list of important 2027 targets. That includes a couple of talented wide receiver targets.

While he isn’t set to visit until June 19-21, elite Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy wide receiver Osani Gayles is another key target to watch over the next two weeks.

Considered one of the very best wide receivers in the 2027 class, the Gayles’ recruitment has been interesting to watch. While Notre Dame has never been considered to be the favorite for the IMG star, the Irish staff just won’t go away. They now have a really important opportunity in front of them two weekends from now.

Here is the latest to know about Gayles and his recruitment. He will be very important to keep a close eye on moving forward.

Where things stand between Gayles and Notre Dame

Notre Dame is competing against Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Washington, and Stanford. Outside of the interest in the Fighting Irish, Alabama, and Washington are the two teams I have heard hype for the most. The Crimson Tide is the program that I have felt led most during this recruitment, but I am interested to see how much that shifts this month.

As of today, I consider Notre Dame to be more of a dark horse to land Gayles, but they are certainly battling. They do have the last official visit, and that timing does tend to matter. I wouldn’t put it past Freeman and Co. to pull a slight upset down the stretch, especially with Gayles having a commitment date set for June 27th.

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas star Julius Jones Jr. has long been the priority for Notre Dame. The Irish staff currently holds a commitment from Littleton (Co.) Valor Christian speedster Jackson Coleman, but the team wants to add at least one other talented pass catcher. Gayles is clearly the next guy to know after Jones, while Notre Dame is also set to host Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding standout Myles McAfee.

There is a level of patience needed in this Gayles’ recruitment, but not too long.

Osani Gayles’ recruiting background 

Gayles is considered to be a four-star and top-115 overall player by each of the major recruiting platforms. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Gayles is ranked as the No. 46 overall player, the No. 6 wide receiver, and the No. 5 player out of the state of Florida for the 2027 recruiting class. 247 Sports and ESPN both have Gayles rated as the No. 34 overall player in the class. 

As if his recruiting wasn’t impressive enough, the offer list for Gayles might be even better. Some of his top offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, LSU, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Miami, USC, Florida State, Auburn, Missouri, Washington, Arizona State, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, UCLA, Oregon State, Washington State, Cal, and Stanford, among others. 

When Gayles was a sophomore at St. Mary’s in 2024, he put together an outstanding season. During that year, he hauled in 43 receptions for 756 yards and six touchdowns, while carrying the football 22 times for 218 yards and three scores on the ground. With IMG Academy this past year, Gayles managed 20 receptions for 492 yards and five touchdowns in nine games, an average of 24.6 yards per reception.