Four-star EDGE Aidan O'Neil commits to Notre Dame football

Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep four-star EDGE Aidan O’Neil has announced his commitment to Notre Dame, giving the Fighting Irish a major boost in their 2027 recruiting class.

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.

One visit was all it took. He picked the Irish over Kentucky and Penn State, his other two finalists.

“When you’re at Notre Dame, there’s just something about the place,” the 6-5, 250-pounder told Blue & Gold about his commitment. “You feel an aura. I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s just different than other schools. The people separated it a lot, too — the players and coaches. I’ve had a handful of conversations with Coach Freeman, and I’m ready to go to war for him already.

“Academically, I have something to fall back on, God forbid something happens. I will have that great degree and alumni network to fall back on. I know I belong at a school with like-minded individuals.”

O’Neil is locked in with his Fighting Irish pledge. There won’t be any drama, nor will he take visits to other schools moving forward. He’ll take his official visit to Notre Dame in June and hopefully return for a game this fall.

“I’m going to focus on one school, and I’m going to start learning the scheme,” he said. “Coach Partridge is going to help me grow as a player this year. I feel really great. I don’t have to think about other schools; it’s all about Notre Dame now. That’s where I’m going.”

He also held offers from the likes of Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M and Washington.

O’Neil is Notre Dame’s first defensive line pledge, and at the time of his announcement, he became the Irish’s 11^th commitment in the 2027 class.

The Montgomery, N.Y., native ranks as the No. 110 overall prospect and No. 13 EDGE in America according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

O’Neil goes in depth on Notre Dame commitment

On March 27, O’Neil narrowed down his recruitment to seven schools: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Penn State, Tennessee and Texas A&M. He visited each of them in the spring, and after that tour, he admitted that he might shut down his recruitment before taking summer official visits.

On Wednesday morning, O’Neil made his decision privately. He told his high school head coach, Dan Sabella, that he’d be picking the Irish, and as a Fighting Irish fan, Sabella was fired up. And Don Bosco Prep’s defensive coordinator, Spencer Scannell, was equally fired up, considering he’s a Notre Dame alum.

O’Neil noted that many people in his corner were pulling for Notre Dame — including his father — but the decision was his own.

“Notre Dame was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,” he added.

After informing his high school coaches, O’Neil called Notre Dame defensive line coach Charlie Partridge to give him the news.

“He played a huge role in my decision,” O’Neil said. “He’s a genius when it comes to everything defensive line. He’s going to help me get to where I need to go. He was really fired up. He said that I was a can’t-miss target and needed to get me.”

The next call was to Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.

“He said that this was the best decision I’ll make in my life,” recalled O’Neil. “He was super pumped up because of the person I am. He knows I’m going to fit right in.”

It was close between Notre Dame and an SEC school down the stretch, but a chat with Freeman a couple weeks before his announcement proved crucial.

“I was really thinking about Kentucky for a while, but Coach Freeman called me, and I don’t know what exactly it was about that conversation, but things started to change for me,” he explained. “I took a step back and really thought about the big picture — the school itself and what it’s going to do for me.

“Bosco is a strict, Catholic all-boys school. The academic part is the real deal, and it’s a football-player factory. I wanted to choose a school that could be difficult and give me adversity. I really got to talk with the guys at Notre Dame, and I feel like I belong there. I’m going to fit in really well at Notre Dame.

“I just wanted to go to Notre Dame, at the end of the day.”

Two days after making his decision privately, he announced it on a CBS Sports YouTube stream.

The Aidan O’Neil File

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.

NJ.com listed him as a first-team all-state defender and to its first-team Non-Public defense. O’Neil was a first-team all-state defender according to NJAthletics.net as well.

In 2024 and 2025, he was named to the Jersey Sports Zone All-Zone Non-Public Team.

The last player from Don Bosco Prep to sign with Notre Dame — at least per Blue & Gold’s research — was safety Elijah Shumate in the 2012 cycle.