Notre Dame trending for pair of 2025 4-star defensive backs

Notre Dame is on pace to finish with a top-15 class for the fourth cycle in a row, as the Fighting Irish currently own the No. 13 class in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking. Marcus Freeman and his staff are already working on the 2025 class, too.

At the beginning of August, Tampa Jesuit four-star running back Justin Thurman pledged to ND, becoming the second commit in the following cycle, along with Miami Palmetto three-star defensive lineman Davion Dixon. That class could double in due time, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

On Tuesday, Blue & Gold recruiting inside Mike Singer logged a pair of RPM picks in favor of the Irish for Winter Garden (Fla.) West Orange four-star safety Ivan Taylor and Indianapolis Ben Davis four-star cornerback Mark Zackery. Both picks were placed with a 60% confidence level.

Taylor is the No. 96 overall prospect and No. 8 safety in the cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Zackery is the No. 171 player, No. 19 CB and No. 1 player in Indiana.

Taylor and Zackery visited at same time in July

Notre Dame has welcomed Taylor, the son of former NFL defensive back Ike Taylor, for a pair of visits, one of which came at the end of July. The Irish now have a 97.2% chance to land the safety following Singer’s RPM pick.

“It was a great visit,” Taylor told Blue & Gold. “The coaches can’t get any better. I’ll definitely, for sure, come back. Coach [Chris] O’Leary and Coach [Marcus] Freeman are just good people to be around. They want to get me better and see something that I don’t think a lot of coaches see in me. They like the way I work, and I know I’ll be back up there.”

Zackery was also in South Bend during that weekend in July, which was his third trip in total. The CB has also taken a pair of visits to Ohio State and Purdue, though Notre Dame now holds the RPM lead at 88.6%. Cornerbacks coach Mike Mickens is leading the recruitment for both blue-chip prospects.

“We have definitely built it since the first day he came out to practice and told me that I received the offer from the school,” Zackery said of his relationship with Mickens. “It was definitely cool, then, but now we’re getting serious and building our relationship and talking about family and my aspirations with the school.