Notre Dame four-star safety target Zayden Gamble moves up commitment date

Notre Dame four-star safety target Zayden Gamble has moved up his commitment date by 82 days.

After previously telling reporters he planned to make his pledge July 16, Gamble informed Rivals national recruiting reporter Hayes Fawcett on Thursday that he will now announce his declaration Saturday.

The Irish are a finalist for the Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas standout alongside Florida, Ohio State and Miami.

According to the Rivals Industry Ranking, Gamble is the top safety in the Sunshine State. He also ranks as the No. 177 overall player and No. 13 safety nationally and No. 19 talent in Florida in the 2027 class.

Notre Dame made its move for the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder about a year ago. That’s when current Irish safeties coach Jevaughn Codlin — who was previously a defensive analyst with the program — first offered him a scholarship.

The Irish immediately intrigued Gamble. Still, it took almost a year for him to finally visit campus. Once he did for the program’s junior day recruiting event March 21, Gamble fell further in love with Notre Dame and quickly considered it one of his favorites.

“Notre Dame definitely moved the needle for me,” Gamble told Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer on March 24. “They definitely jumped a lot. It’s a school that will be heavily involved in my recruitment.”

Part of the reason the visit was such an eye-opener was that before this spring, Gamble had never been on a recruiting visit outside of Florida. In addition to Notre Dame, he also unofficially visited Ohio State and was scheduled to Georgia Tech and Georgia. It is unclear whether Gamble ended up making it to the Peach State for those trips. It ultimately did not matter.

Eventually, on April 2, Gamble trimmed his top 10 down to Notre Dame, Florida, Ohio State and Miami and scheduled official visits with each one. But with Thursday’s news, Gamble seemingly won’t have to make all those trips. He’s already been to Miami double-digit times and Florida on at least four occasions. His Notre Dame official visit is scheduled for the weekend of June 19.

Gamble’s decision to move up his announcement date comes one day after the Irish landed a commitment from the No. 10 safety in Florida in three-star recruit John Gay III. Also the No. 67 safety nationally, Gay secured his spot just a few days after his first trip to campus. Gay plays his high school football at Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna-Prep, just 10 miles from St. Thomas Aquinas.

In addition to Gay, the Irish hold another Sunshine State commitment from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star linebacker Amarri Irvin. With Irvin, Gay and seven other commits in the fold, the Irish currently hold the No. 9 recruiting class in the 2027 Industry Ranking football Team Recruiting Rankings.