Notre Dame football predicted to miss out on five-star defender following elite DB coach Mike Mickens leaving for the NFL 

Notre Dame football is fading fast with a priority five-star recruit.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive backs coach Mike Mickens in the huddle with players during a time out against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Notre Dame football has gotten off to a fast start when it comes to defensive back recruiting in the 2027 class. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish already hold commitments from cornerbacks Xavier Hasan and Ace Alston, as well as safety Khalil Terry. With how well secondary coach Mike Mickens has recruited during his time in South Bend, that impact shouldn’t be much of a surprise. 

When Mickens opted to take a job with the Baltimore Ravens a couple of weeks ago, that was a huge blow for the Notre Dame program, both in terms of developing and recruiting. With former Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry set to take the job, the Irish staff has the chance to recover, but how quickly or how well remains to be seen. There is going to be a lot of pressure on Henry to replace arguably the best Notre Dame assistant coach ever.

Mickens’ absence as a recruiter may have already been felt this week. Steve Wiltfong from Rivals logged an expert prediction for elite 2027 Cornelius (N.C.) Hough cornerback Joshua Dobson to land with head coach Lane Kiffin and LSU, a player that the Irish staff was extremely high on. While it would have been an extremely tough pull for Notre Dame, they were certainly in the hunt. The fact that things trended away from them so quickly is a testament to the relationship that Dobson had with Mickens.

If Dobson does end up with LSU as predicted, it would be a huge blow for the Irish. With an already tremendous three-man class committed, this isn’t the end of the world. It’ll be important for Henry to come in and smooth things over with the commits early. From there, he has a chance to flex his own recruiting muscles in order to complete an elite secondary class for Notre Dame.

Joshua Dobson’s recruiting background 

Already considered to be an elite recruit, Dobson currently ranks inside the top-12 overall players nationally according to each of the major recruiting platforms. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, the North Carolina native is currently pegged as the No. 3 overall player, the No. 2 cornerback, and the No. 1 player from the state of North Carolina for the 2027 recruiting class. Dobson is considered a five-star player in the class. 

Like his recruiting rankings, Dobson also boasts an elite offer list already. Some of the top programs who have offered Dobson include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas, LSU, Michigan, Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M, Clemson, Florida State, Auburn, Indiana, Missouri, South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville, Georgia Tech, NC State, Arkansas, Boston College, Maryland, Virginia, UNC, and Duke, among several others. 

During his three seasons at Fort Mill (S.C.) Catawba Ridge, Dobson became one of the nation’s best players. During that stretch, the 6-1, 175-pound cornerback managed to record six interceptions, 17 pass breakups, and two kickoff returns for touchdowns. He was also a standout track and field athlete for the school, running a personal best of 10.85 seconds in the 100-meter dash as a freshman. Dobson is set to play for Hough High School as a senior.

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