Why Khary Adams committing to Notre Dame is a recruiting upset

Notre Dame offered Towson (Md.) Loyola Blakefield class of 2026 cornerback Khary Adams last summer, and the Irish have consistently been mentioned as a leading school in his recruitment.

At different points over the last several months, a few different schools had a lot of buzz in the elite prospect’s recruitment. LSU and USC had some momentum early in the spring. There was plenty of talk about Michigan and South Carolina for him as well.

Oregon made a big move for him in April and was poised to get his last official visit before a late June commitment date.

And of course, Penn State — a program that dominates in the mid-Atlantic — was a mainstay in his recruitment. He visited the Nittany Lions six times.

However, Adams spoke to On3’s Chad Simmons before making his Fighting Irish commitment public and revealed that ND was the school that set the pace in his recruitment.

“This whole process, Notre Dame has been that one school everyone was up against,” Adams said. “It was Notre Dame vs. Penn State, then Notre Dame vs. Oregon, so Notre Dame was up there for me from the beginning.

But still, when taking a step back and examining Adams’ recruitment, this is a battle that Penn State usually wins.

“I think it is an upset,” Blue & Gold analyst Tim Hyde said. “This is Penn State territory. Notre Dame hasn’t gotten a national kid like Adams out of that area in a long time. Cam Hart was a three-star wide receiver when the Irish got him six years ago.

“Some Notre Dame fans have said, ‘Is it really an upset?’ Yes, it is. A top five kid at his position out of Maryland? It’s an upset. This is a great win for Notre Dame.”

Calling this an upset recruiting win is no slight toward Notre Dame. It’s actually the opposite. The Irish are parlaying their success from the 2024—25 season onto the recruiting trail, and it’s paying dividends.

“He comes from Penn State territory,” continued Hyde. “It just is [an upset]. Penn State does an amazing job in that region. This is a huge win for Notre Dame.”

Adams ranks as the No. 30 overall player and No. 3 cornerback in America according to On3’s own rankings.

“For as great as Notre Dame cornerback recruiting has been lately, they haven’t landed any top-50 ranked national guys,” Hyde noted. “Adams is ranked in the top five at cornerback by 247 and On3. Notre Dame has done a tremendous job bringing guys in and coaching them up.

“Coach [Marcus] Freeman has shown that he can get Notre Dame there, and Coach [Mike] Mickens is going to get even more defensive backs drafted.”

Adams committed to the Irish on Saturday afternoon, and later in the day, Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College’s Joey O’Brien, the No. 40 overall player and No. 5 safety in America according to the 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, joined him on the Irish commit list.

The Irish now have four defensive back commits, as NND had four-star talents Ayden Pouncey and Chaston Smith already locked in.