Notre Dame keeping close eye on in-state 2028 safety Drake Coellner

Notre Dame recruits prospects from all over the country but always pays close attention to the top high school talent within close proximity to South Bend.

One of the in-state talents the Irish staff is tracking in the 2028 class is Carmel (Ind.) High’s Drake Coellner, one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country.

On Sept. 15, the 6-0, 195-pound class of 2028 safety earned his first scholarship offer from Vanderbilt. Duke, Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Purdue and Oklahoma have offered him recently as well, with the Sooners’ offer coming Monday following his trip to Norman.

Coellner visited Notre Dame in October to see the Irish knock off Boise State, his third campus visit this year. He was also in town for Irish Invasion in June and the Blue-Gold Game back in April. So the Notre Dame staff was well aware of Coellner before he landed scholarship offers.

Coellner enjoyed his most recent South Bend trip.

“The highlight of the visit was just being around the coaches, because they made it feel like home,” Coellner told Blue & Gold. “I thought that they played very well as a team and their offense was rolling.”

Justice Bathas joined the Notre Dame recruiting office earlier this year and has emerged as a key member of the staff. He spent a lot of time with Coellner during the visit.

“I talked with Justice Bathas for the most time,” Coellner added. “He is a great guy, and we talked about my season. He said he likes what he sees so far.”

Notre Dame offers some prospects during the fall of their sophomore season but not many. The bulk of their offers in the 2028 cycle will go out in March for Pot of Gold Day, when the staff will offer several dozen sophomores on St. Patrick’s Day.

If Coellner is to land an offer from Notre Dame, it would be a big deal to him.

“It would mean the world to me, because I grew up in Indiana all my life, and I’ve always been a fan of the Irish,” he said.

Carmel fell in the second round of the 6A Indiana state playoffs and finished the 2025 season with a 9-2 record. In those 11 contests, Coellner posted 72 tackles (2 for loss), 4 interceptions, 3 pass break ups and 1 fumble recovery.