Pot of Gold: Every new 2024 safety offer Notre Dame sent out
Notre Dame safeties coach Chris O’Leary expanded his 2024 safety board in a big way Thursday, offering double-digit new prospects at the position.
St. Patrick’s Day is a built-in holiday for Notre Dame to utilize on the recruiting trail, and during the “Pot of Gold” day, the staff offered many, many new prospects. Here’s a look at the new safety offers.
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Lilburn (Ga.) Parkview SAF Mike Matthews
Height/weight: 6-2, 170
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Mississippi State, Arkansas, UCF, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest
On3 lists Matthews as a wide receiver prospect, but we’re told the Irish are recruiting him as a safety. He’s a bit under the radar from a national perspective at the moment, but from what we hear on him, he’s someone who the Irish staff is fired up about and will be recruiting hard.
Lagrange (Ga.) Troup County SAF Noah Dixon
Height/weight: 6-0, 170
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Georgia, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Auburn, Georgia Tech
Dixon has seen his recruitment heat up since January with offers from a handful of Power Five programs, and his latest head-turning offer is from Notre Dame. Lagrange (Ga.) isn’t exactly a recruiting hotbed for the Fighting Irish, but Notre Dame is looking at multiple prospects from Troup County High, obviously including Dixon.
Los Angeles Junipero Serra SAF Jason Mitchell
Height/weight: 6-4, 180
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Arizona, Maryland, Nevada, Hawaii, Arizona State
Blurb: Mitchell is listed at 6-4, which is quite the impressive size for a defensive back. He refers to himself as an “athlete” who plays quarterback, defensive back and wide receiver for his high school team. On3 lists Mitchell as a cornerback, but the Irish staff sees his talents best translating to the safety position.
Miami Gardens (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep SAF Zaquan Patterson
Height/weight: 6-0, 185
On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 35 NATL, No. 3 SAF and No. 11 player from Florida
Other notable offers: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami, Pittsburgh
Notre Dame is clearly swinging for the fences with its new offers in Florida, offering the top talent the state has to offer. It goes to show just how loaded Florida is for the 2024 cycle considering that Patterson is the No. 35 player nationally and No. 11 player from Florida. Patterson is committed to the 2024 Under Armour All-America Game.
Washington (D.C.) St. Frances Academy SAF Gabriel Williams
Height/weight: 6-3, 182
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Penn State, Ole Miss, Maryland, West Virginia, Boston College
On3 lists him as an outside linebacker, but to our knowledge, he’s a safety offer for Notre Dame. And the fact that position coach Chris O’Leary offered him backs up that thought. Williams is more of a regional prospect right now, but considering he transferred to powerhouse St. Frances Academy in the offseason, he’ll have a lot more college scouts looking at him.
Daytona Beach (Fla.) Mainland SAF Zay Mincey
Height/weight: 6-3, 165
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Iowa State, Louisville, Coastal Carolina, USF
Notre Dame is shooting for the stars with some of its Pot of Gold offers and is offering plenty of prospects who are more “under the radar.” In Mincey’s case, the four schools listed above are his only other offers. Notre Dame is the fifth school to extend an offer to him. The staff trusts their evaluations and likes what they see in Mincey, a two-sport athlete who also starts on the basketball court.
West Hills (Calif.) Chaminade SAF Marquis Gallegos
Height/weight: 6-1, 170
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: USC, Colorado, Cal, Fresno State, Washington
Notre Dame will have to beat out rival USC if it’s hoping to land Gallegos as part of its 2024 recruiting class. Gallegos received an offer from the Trojans at the end of January and returned to campus a couple weeks back. Gallegos is familiar to college football recruiting. His older brother, Isaac Gallegos, is a defensive back at New Mexico State. His cousin is former Colorado linebacker Rick Gamboa, who finished his career sixth on Colorado’s all-time tackles list.
Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic SAF Kaj Sanders
Height/weight: 6-1, 180
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Rutgers, Temple, Boston College, Syracuse, Connectictut
Notre Dame is in early on Sanders, who comes from a program that was good to Notre Dame in the 2022 cycle. The Irish signed quarterback Steve Angeli and defensive back Jayden Bellamy, who both enrolled early at Notre Dame and participated in their first spring practice on Thursday, from Bergen Catholic. Sanders could be next to keep the pipeline going.
Florence (Ala.) Mars Hill Bible School SAF Damian Thompson
Height/weight: 6-0, 170
On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 79 NATL, No. 11 ATH and No. 3 player from Alabama
Other notable offers: Georgia, Ole Miss, Louisville, North Alabama
Folks in the Yellowhammer State that I talk to rave about the talent in the area for the 2023 cycle but say 2024 might be even better. Thompson might agree with that. He doesn’t have a long offer sheet just yet, but two major recruiting media networks rank him as a four-star recruit — including On3 — and he’s pulled in a new offer from the Fighting Irish.
Tampa (Fla.) Carollwood Day SAF Tavoy Feagin
Height/weight: 6-0, 165
On3 Consensus Ranking: No. 49 NATL, No. 9 CB and No. 15 player from Florida
Other notable offers: UCF, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State
Notre Dame has extended a few offers at Carrollwood Day today. Feagin ranks as the No. 9 cornerback in the country, but the Irish look to be primarily recruiting him as a safety prospect. Feagin is committed to the 2024 Under Armour All-America Game.
Hicksville (N.Y.) Holy Trinity Diocesan SAF Josiah Brown
Height/weight: 6-1, 175
On3 Consensus Ranking: N/A
Other notable offers: Rutgers, West Virginia, Pittsburgh
The schools listed above are Brown’s only other offers at this point, but he’s someone who the Notre Dame staff really likes. We included him in an article this week about five potential Pot of Gold offers that could make a big impact. Brown is a solid two-way player, a strong student and has the fastest reported 55-meter track time in the 2024 class at 6.42 seconds. This kid can absolutely fly, and Notre Dame is high on his talents.
