Notre Dame football set for final shot to land priority five-star recruit with a decision date on the horizon and a ton of outside pressure
One of the earliest offers in the 2026 recruiting class for Notre Dame was Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College athlete Joey O’Brien. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish staff were very early on the talented athlete who can play anything from cornerback, safety, and wide receiver on the next level. At that time, O’Brien didn’t have much of an offer list, wasn’t even offered by a couple of the major recruiting platforms, and also wasn’t a notable name yet.
Since then, things have heated up and O’Brien has become one of the more heavily pursued recruits in the entire 2026 class. He recently dropped a finalists list that included the Fighting Irish, Oregon, Penn State, and Clemson. There are some conflicting reports about who the leader is for O’Brien, so this official visit season is going to be important to see where he picks on June 20.
O’Brien will take one final official visit before making his decision this weekend, and that means a return to South Bend. He appears to be excited about that return trip. Notre Dame has chance to make a statement down the stretch.
O’Brien is rated as a five-star, the No. 30 overall player, the No. 4 safety, and the No. 1 player in the state of Pennsylvania in the 2026 class according to 247Sports. Some see O’Brien as a safety, and others at wide receiver, while Notre Dame valued him at the cornerback position initially. At 6-4 and 190 pounds, he is a tremendous athlete that brings a lot of upside and versatility to the table.
