Recruiting never truly ends after a verbal commitment, but four-star safety Joey O’Brien has taken a rare stance. Since pledging to Notre Dame, the highly ranked defensive back has effectively shut down his recruitment, choosing to ignore overtures from other programs still pushing for his services.
O’Brien told On3’s Kyle Kelly that he does not plan on visiting any other schools this fall besides Notre Dame. His lone trip will be to South Bend when the Fighting Irish host USC, and that is the only visit he intends to take before signing day. That decision underscores how firmly he has aligned with Marcus Freeman’s program.
The Irish offered O’Brien on March 17, 2023, during their Pot of Gold Day recruiting event. Since then, Freeman, recruiting director Carter Auman, and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens have maintained consistent contact, a level of attention that has kept competing programs at bay even as they attempted to re-engage in recent weeks.
Also read: Marcus Freeman’s secret edge in Notre Dame recruiting race
O’Brien, who committed over Oregon, Clemson, and Penn State, explained his choice to 247Sports’ Brian Dohn.
“It’s really all about culture. To go away to college like that, you need to go to a place where you love, and it’s all about the people. I feel like I have a great relationship with the people at Notre Dame. And it’s just like, I trust Coach Marcus Freeman with my life really. Like he’s the type of dude that I want to go to battle for.”
Before announcing his decision, O’Brien visited Oregon on June 6, Clemson on May 30, and Penn State on May 16, then made his trip to Notre Dame on June 13. His pledge, along with a public message about his lifelong dream of playing Division I football, has helped Notre Dame maintain its standing near the top of the 2026 recruiting rankings.
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