Blue-chip EDGE Aidan O'Neil picks Notre Dame over Kentucky

Kentucky football is rolling on the recruiting trail right now. Four-star safety Marquis Bryant became the latest top prospect to join the 2027 high school class. Unfortunately, a big defensive end target came off the board to another program on Friday.

Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep EDGE Aidan O’Neil has ended his recruitment with a commitment to Notre Dame.

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BREAKING: Four-Star EDGE Aidan O’Neil has Committed to Notre Dame, he tells me for @Rivals⁰⁰The 6’5 250 EDGE from Montgomery, NY chose the Fighting Irish over Kentucky and Penn State

“Dreams to reality. Go Irish ☘️”⁰https://t.co/C9xfebY9ZF pic.twitter.com/rWNgELScMr
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) May 1, 2026

Aidan O’Neil is the No. 110 overall recruit in the 2027 Rivals Industry Ranking. O’Neil is a top-five player in New Jersey. The Fighting Irish recently emerged as a favorite to land this blue-chip recruit. Marcus Freeman‘s program logged a key recruiting win before summer official visits arrive.

Kentucky hosted O’Neil for a pair of unofficial visits during the spring semester but were unable to close this recruitment. This prospect also picked the Irish over Penn State. The Wildcats will now have to pivot but some other targets are on the board. Myles Smith, Sean Fox, Rion Jackson, Justin Weeks, Braden Gordon, Jayce Brewer, Adekunbi Adetayo, Jaylen Mercer, Griff Galloway, and TK Cunningham are other outside linebacker/defensive prospects to monitor closely as we inch closer to the biggest commitment window of the recruiting calendar in July.

Recruiting never stops.

Kentucky’s 2027 high school recruiting class

Player	Position	High School	Ranking
Jake Nawrot	QB (6-4, 190)	Arlington Heights (Ill.) Hersey	4-star (No. 60 overall)
Marquis Bryant	S (5-11, 185)	Rolesville (N.C.) High	4-star (No. 284 overall)
Elijah Brown	iDL (6-1, 290)	Prattville (Ala.) High	4-star (No. 295 overall)
Tristin Hughes	S (6-1, 190)	Rocky River (Ohio) High	4-star (No. 377 overall)
Larron Westmoreland	S (6-5, 180)	Jeffersontown (Ky.) High	High 3-star (No. 433 overall)
Antwoine Higgins Jr.	EDGE (6-2, 230)	Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton	High 3-star (No. 463 overall)
Tank Proctor	TE (6-5, 220)	Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage	High 3-star (No. 551 overall)
Bryian Duncan Jr.	ATH (5-9, 160)	Cairo (Ga.) High	High 3-star (No. 553 overall)
Ty Ashley	LB (6-2, 200)	Owensboro (Ky.) High	High 3-star (No. 554 overall)
Brady Hull	iOL (6-1, 285)	Somerset (Ky.) Pulaski County	High 3-star (No. 589 overall)
Matthias Burrell	iOL (6-4, 320)	Gahanna (Ohio) Lincoln	3-star (No. 653 overall)
Miguel Wilson	CB (5-10, 170)	Mobile (Ala.) Vigor	3-star (No. 658 overall)
Conrad Hart	TE (6-5, 235)	Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy	3-star (No. 1,045 overall)