Notre Dame football takes a massive step forward toward pulling an upset for a top-50 offensive weapon
Notre Dame takes a positive step with one of the better wide receivers in the 2027 recruiting class. How much of a chance do they have?
Notre Dame football landed a commitment from 2027 Littleton (Co.) Valor Christian wide receiver Jackson Coleman recently. Head coach Marcus Freeman, wide receivers coach Mike Brown, and the Fighting Irish now have their eyes set on several elite targets on the board. While Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas star Julius Jones Jr. gets most of the attention, he isn’t the only Florida playmaker to keep a close eye on.
Before this offseason, there wasn’t much attention given to 2027 Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy wide receiver Osani Gayles. The IMG Academy standout ended up making an unofficial visit to South Bend recently, which caught some by surprise. There is clearly at least some interest in the Fighting Irish.
Freeman and Co. took another strong move for Gayles, earning a place on his top-five schools list. Notre Dame was joined by Alabama, Tennessee, Washington, and Stanford in that top group.
As of today, Notre Dame is not considered to be the favorite for Gayles. The Irish staff is battling for the talented playmaker, but there is a lot of work ahead of them. If Notre Dame is able to somehow pull an upset here, it would be a monumental victory for Coach Brown.
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. 48 overall player, the No. 8 wide receiver, and the No. 6 player out of the state of Florida for the 2027 recruiting class. 247 Sports and ESPN both have Gayles rated as the No. 35 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 for 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.