Key Notre Dame football recruiting target includes Irish in top schools list
Mark Zackery took the next step in his college football recruitment on Monday. The 2025 class top 220 four-star cornerback has narrowed his list of 30 scholarship offers to a top 10 schools. The 6-foot, 155-pounder is down to Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Purdue, Penn State, Southern California and Tennessee.
Zackery is the No. 133 overall player, No. 16 cornerback and No. 1 prospect in Indiana, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
Notable exclusions from Zackery’s top schools list include Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan State, Indiana and Louisville. He paid unofficial college recruiting visits to the latter two schools.
Indianapolis Ben Davis High’s Zackery has unofficially visited Notre Dame four times, more than any other school. The Fighting Irish expect to welcome him back to campus Saturday for their annual junior day event.
“They treated me more as a priority for them,” Zackery told Blue & Gold after his latest visit on Sept. 23, which took place for the Ohio State game. “I got to talk to Coach Freeman a lot more before the game. I was first the first guy he talked to. It showed they are super interested in me, which I already knew from going there previous times.”
In addition to Notre Dame, the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 3 cornerback in the Midwest took in game days at Georgia and Ohio State in 2023. He also made a non-game-day visit to Michigan, which marked his first time checking out the Wolverines. The Buckeyes hosted him two times previously, and the Bulldogs welcomed him to campus once last summer. He has reported two Purdue visits.
Zackery helped lead Ben Davis to a state championship in Indiana’s top classification this past football season. He registered 39 tackles (37 solo), 9 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 caused fumbles in 14 games.
Zackery was also a key offensive contributor. He caught 53 passes for 823 yards (15.5 yards per catch) and 8 touchdowns.
The Irish have one cornerback recruit committed in the 2025 cycle. Phoenix Brophy College Preparatory junior Cree Thomas pledged to Notre Dame on Nov. 20. The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder is the No. 336 overall player, No. 37 cornerback and No. 2 prospect in Arizona in the class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
In addition to Thomas and Zackery, the Irish have offered scholarships to 15 other cornerbacks in the 2025 cycle.
