Meet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football class of 2027 commitments

Get to know the class of 2027 prospects committed to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in this feature from Blue & Gold.

See below for background on each of the commits (listed in chronological order from newest to oldest).

Vero Beach (Fla.) High QB Champ Monds 

Height: 6-2.5
Weight: 220
Commitment date: May 1, 2026
Rivals Ranking: No. 215 overall, No. 17 QB and No. 19 player in Florida

Notre Dame’s hunt for a 2027 quarterback came to an end on May 1, for a second time. Notre Dame initially earned a pledge last summer from Teddy Jarrard but needed a replacement after he reclassified to 2026. Monds was the first quarterback Gino Guidugli offered after Jarrard’s reclassification, and Guidugli got his guy. Monds reclassified himself as a former member of the 2028 class; he ranked as the No. 2 overall player in that cycle.

Monds, who picked Notre Dame over Florida State and Ohio State, appeared in only four games last season due to ankle and shoulder injuries. Monds — whose full name is Wonderful Monds IV — completed 45 of 63 passes for 691 yards and recorded eight total touchdowns without throwing an interception.

Monds comes from quite an athletic family, as his grandfather, Wonderful Monds Jr., was a first-team All-American defensive back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the mid-1970s before being selected in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He had four sons, all of whom played collegiate or professional athletics, including Mario Monds, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins. His uncles include Wonderful Monds II, who played for Florida International, and Devin Monds, who was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2001.

His father, also named Wonderful, played professional baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization.

Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep EDGE Aidan O’Neil 

Height: 6-5
Weight: 250
Commitment date: May 1, 2026
Rivals Ranking: No. 191 overall, No. 17 EDGE and No. 3 player in New Jersey

It came down to Kentucky and Penn State for the four-star pass rusher, and it was close down the stretch, but a conversation with Irish head coach Marcus Freeman put Notre Dame back in the driver’s seat to land him. Notre Dame offered him a scholarship on Feb. 11, and he quickly set up a visit to South Bend for the next month. His junior day visit on March 21 went incredibly well and sent the Irish soaring up his list.

O’Neil had a tremendous junior season as a team captain, helping Don Bosco Prep to an undefeated regular season before falling in the New Jersey Non-Public A state championship game. He posted 54 tackles (16 for loss), 7.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 12 games.

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas S Zayden Gamble

Height: 5-11
Weight: 185
Commitment date: April 25, 2026
Rivals Ranking: No. 237 overall, No. 22 S and No. 24 player in Florida

The four-star prospect’s recruitment was seen as a Miami and Florida battle for quite some time. He visited the local Hurricanes at least 10 times. Ohio State made a move for him earlier in the spring. But those three programs ultimately finished as finalists. Gamble only needed one visit to know he wanted to call South Bend home for his collegiate career. The Irish offered a scholarship in April 2025 and recruited him hard but always seemed on the outside looking in among his top schools. But the Notre Dame staff kept working on him, and he visited for the first time on March 21, 2026. His relationships with Aaron Henry, Marcus Freeman, Jevaughn Codlin and others were strong, leading to his commitment at the end of April.

He had a strong 13-game junior season, posting 65 stops (3 for loss), 3 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble and 1 blocked field goal and was named to the 2025 MaxPreps Junior All-America second-team defense. His father, David, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994 and was part of the Denver Broncos’ Super Bowl team in 1998. He played collegiately for New Hampshire.

Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna S John Gay III 

Height: 5-10
Weight: 190
Commitment date: April 22, 2026
Rivals Ranking: No. 67 S and No. 73 player in Florida

The Irish offered Gay a scholarship on Feb. 18, and defensive backs coach Aaron Henry, running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider and safeties coach Jevaughn Codlin built strong relationships with him. He has a longstanding relationship with assistant wide receivers coach Shaun Shivers, who was his track coach as a freshman at Chaminade-Madonna.

His first scholarship offer came last summer from Mississippi State, but offer No. 2 didn’t come his way until the end of January when Pittsburgh offered. In the following month, his recruitment skyrocketed, adding USF, Boston College, Texas A&M, Auburn, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and a few others to his scholarship sheet.

Half the games Gay played in as a junior were blowout wins, but in 12 games last fall, he posted 32 stops, 3 tackles for loss, 1 interception returned for a score and 3 pass breakups. He’s a versatile defender who can play nickel or deep safety for the Irish.

Springfield (Mass.) Central RB Isaiah Rogers

Height: 5-10
Weight: 190
Commitment date: March 30, 2026
Rivals Ranking: No. 212 overall, No. 17 RB and No. 2 player in Massachusetts

Notre Dame landed its second running back pledge five days after it landed its first, and the Irish staff was fired up to land Rogers, who totaled 1,504 yards from scrimmage with 21 touchdowns during his 10-game junior season. He picked the Fighting Irish over Georgia, Indiana and Penn State and also held offers from Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, Washington, North Carolina and others.

Rogers’ first Notre Dame visit was in the summer of 2024, and while his second visit occurred nearly two years later, that trip was enough to give the Irish the edge. He was originally planning to take his summer official visits, but Rogers jumped on the opportunity to join the Notre Dame commit list.

Rogers is also an exceptional track and field athlete. Last winter, he recorded a personal-best 6.61 seconds in the 55-meter dash. On the outdoor circuit, he clocked a 10.74 in the 100-meter and 37.6 in the 300-meter last spring.

Waco (Texas) Midway RB Lathan Whisenton

Height: 5-11
Weight: 195
Commitment date: March 25, 2026
Rivals Ranking: No. 173 overall, No. 12 RB and No. 22 player in Texas

Notre Dame offered Whisenton at the end of November 2025, and he visited for the first time the following March for the staff’s junior day recruiting event. All it took was one visit for Whisenton; he committed to the Irish a few days after the trip. Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas and Texas Tech were among the other schools that offered him.

Whisenton had a strong 11-game junior season in which he rushed for 1,502 yards and 24 touchdowns on 165 carries. The Texas Sports Writers Association named Whisenton a Class 6A honorable mention. District 12-6A also recognized him as its most valuable player. Whisenton was a first-team All-District 12-6A selection after his 11-game sophomore campaign, during which he totaled 1,289 yards and 18 touchdowns on 204 carries. He earned district offensive newcomer of the year honors as a freshman in 2023 after recording 456 rushing yards and six touchdowns in 10 games.

Raleigh (N.C.) Cardinal Gibbons CB Xavier Hasan

Height: 5-11
Weight: 190
Commitment date: Dec. 15, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 33 overall, No. 6 CB and No. 3 player in North Carolina

Notre Dame showed that it can continue to recruit at a high level at the cornerback position and in the great state of North Carolina when it landed a commitment from Hasan, who also considered the likes of Ohio State, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida State, his other five finalists.

The Fighting Irish offered Hasan as part of its Pot of Gold day back in March 2025. Hasan’s first visit to campus was for the staff’s Irish Invasion camp a few months later, and he returned to South Bend for the Texas A&M game in September and the Navy contest in November.

Hasan didn’t get many targets thrown his way as a junior, limiting his statistical production. He posted 17 tackles (1 for loss), 3 interceptions and 1 pass breakup. He totaled four special teams return touchdowns. In March 2026, Hasan posted a personal record of 10.79 in the 100-meter race.

Cincinnati Anderson CB Ace Alston

Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
Commitment date: Dec. 9, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 72 overall, No. 11 CB and No. 4 player in Ohio

Notre Dame beat out the likes of Oregon, Ohio State, LSU and USC for the impressive four-star cornerback from Marcus Freeman’s and Mike Mickens’ stomping grounds of the Cincinnati/Dayton area. Alston visited Notre Dame five times prior to his commitment, including twice in the fall of 2025.

During his junior season, Alston allowed just 1.5 yards per coverage snap and 5 yards per completion while breaking up 16 passes and intercepting 2 others. He had 53 tackles, 1.5 stops for loss, an assisted sack and 1 fumble recovery in those 14 games.

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy LB Amarri Irvin

Height: 5-11
Weight: 215
Commitment date: Nov. 26, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 61 LB and No. 69 player in Florida

Irvin didn’t publicly narrow down his list, but his recruitment came down to Georgia, North Carolina and Notre Dame. And the Fighting Irish landed the talented linebacker prospect, who also held offers from Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and many others. Irvin visited campus for the first time as a recruit in the summer going into his junior year and returned for the NC State game on Oct. 11, 2025. The Irish jumped out to a big lead for him at that point.

The last name Irvin is football royalty. Amarri’s father is a cousin of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. His father, Sedrick Irvin Sr., was a star at Michigan State in the late 90s and played in the NFL from 1999-2003 with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Amarri’s older brother, Sedrick Jr., is a name Irish fans should be familiar with. He was committed to the Irish early in the 2023 class before the two sides parted ways. Sedrick Jr. signed with Stanford and is a junior running back for the Cardinal.

Pittsburgh Central Catholic OL James Halter

Height: 6-5
Weight: 268
Commitment date: Oct. 22, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 127 overall, No. 7 IOL and No. 6 player in Pennsylvania

The four-star prospect earned an offer from Notre Dame the weekend of his visit for the Texas A&M vs. Irish game in Sept. 2025, and it was clear that ND would be hard to beat in his recruitment. He’s the son of former Notre Dame offensive lineman Jordan Halter (1989-93), who played under legendary O-line coach Joe Moore. While in South Bend to see Notre Dame knock off USC, Halter informed the Irish staff of his commitment and announced it a few days later.

Halter chose Notre Dame over 18 other Power Four scholarship offers, including Ohio State, Penn State and North Carolina.

Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame De La Baie Academy DL Richie Flanigan

Height: 6-3
Weight: 280
Commitment date: Sept. 25, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 28 IOL and No. 5 player in Wisconsin

As the younger brother of current Fighting Irish tight end James Flanigan and son of former Notre Dame defensive lineman Jim Flanigan, it was always expected that Richie would continue the family tradition. Blue & Gold predicted him to pick Notre Dame six months before he eventually chose the Irish over Michigan, Wisconsin and others. But the Irish staff put in the work to land Flanigan, and he knew he wanted to call South Bend home after visiting for the Texas A&M game on Sept. 13, 2025. Flanigan committed to the Irish as a defensive lineman, but the expectation moving forward is that he’ll play on the offensive line for the Irish.

During his state championship-winning season in 2024, Flanigan primarily played defensive tackle and right guard. Defensively, he recorded 35 tackles (14 solo), including 2 stops for loss and a sack. He was the only sophomore to earn a spot on the all-conference second team.

Asheville (N.C.) Christian Academy LS Sean Kraft

Height: 6-4
Weight: 215
Commitment date: June 24, 2025
Rivals Ranking: No. 1 long snapper and No. 44 player from North Carolina

Notre Dame takes a specialist on scholarship during most recruiting cycles, and Kraft became the first commit for the Irish in the 2027 class. Notre Dame started expressing interest in Kraft early in 2025, and special teams assistant Jesse Schmitt invited him to camp that June. Kraft worked out for Notre Dame on June 16, leading to his scholarship offer. He committed to the staff shortly thereafter. Kraft ranks as the No. 1 long snapper in the 2027 class according to Rubio Long Snapping.