Top 150 CB Trystan Haynes includes Notre Dame football in Top 6 schools
One of Notre Dame football’s top targets in the 2025 cycle revealed where the Fighting Irish stand in his recruitment on Tuesday. Four-star cornerback Trystan Haynes is down to six schools: Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
“I feel like it’s a great university with a great football history,” Haynes, a junior at Midwest City (Okla.) Carl Albert High, told On3’s Hayes Fawcett. “I like the coaches (Coach Mickens). And I feel like they can help me make the league and (help me) after my football career is over.”
According to the On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services – Haynes is the No. 150 overall player, No. 18 cornerback nationally and No. 5 prospect in Oklahoma. He has a 91.91 rating.
On3 considers the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Haynes the No. 4 recruit in the Sooner State.
Before narrowing his recruitment, Haynes reported 22 “Core Four” (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) offers. LSU, Oregon, Stanford and Tennessee are among the teams that did not make his Top 6. The Irish were the only school on the list outside the South.
Of Haynes’ Top 6 schools, Notre Dame was also the most recent to offer him. Mickens, the program’s secondary coach, and director of recruiting Dre Brown offered Haynes on Feb. 5.
“Me and Coach Brown were on the phone and then he handed it over to the corners coach (Mickens),” Haynes told Blue & Gold on Feb. 6. “He talked about how he likes my film and how I played. He ended up offering. … (Mickens) said he likes how I play the game and approach it with speed and length. I do everything on the field.”
Haynes described his game as “raw” because he is still learning proper technique. Still, as a junior last season, he recorded 51 tackles (41 solo), 4 for loss, 7 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions.
He was also a focal point of the Carl Albert offense, which featured Oklahoma four-star quarterback commit Kevin Sperry. Haynes caught 45 passes for 1,009 yards (22.4 yards per catch) and 12 touchdowns. He is a decorated returner, too, taking 10 kickoffs for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns and running back 7 punts for another 274 yards and 1 more score.
Although the Irish currently have one cornerback committed in the 2025 class, they still target Haynes. Four-star cornerback Cree Thomas from Phoenix Brophy College Preparatory pledged to the Irish on Nov. 20. The On3 Industry Ranking considers the 6-1, 170-pound Thomas the No. 351 overall player, No. 36 cornerback in the country and No. 2 prospect in Arizona.
