Four-star ATH Brauntae Johnson commits to Notre Dame
Notre Dame needed answers at safety in the 2024 class.
The Irish may have found their best one of the recruiting cycle Saturday when four-star athlete Brauntae Johnson announced his commitment to Notre Dame. He chose the Irish over Purdue and Tennessee.
The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Fort Wayne (Ind.) North Side product took his official visit to Notre Dame earlier this month and didn't take any more official visits following that trip.
Johnson is ranked by Rivals as the No. 58 overall player and the No. 5 athlete, a designation for a multi-positional athlete, in the 2024 class.
"Brauntae Johnson is one of the more interesting athletes in the Midwest," said Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith. "He’s a two-sport star who is also fantastic on the hardwood. He’s played a lot of offense during his high school career but has consistently been camping as a defensive back this summer.
"At 6-foot-3, 175-pounds I’d put him at safety with his range, athleticism and ball skills. Johnson is the true definition of an ‘athlete.’ He could play well at wide receiver in college but could be special at safety. Good thing for the Irish, that’s exactly where they project him in their program. It wouldn’t surprise me if Johnson continued climbing the rankings."
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Johnson becomes Notre Dame's third-highest ranked commitment in the 2024 class behind quarterback CJ Carr (No. 21) and wide receiver Cam Williams (No. 49). He joins three-star recruits Kennedy Urlacher and Taebron Bennie-Powell as safety commitments in the class.
Notre Dame is deeply familiar with Johnson, who has visited the Irish seven times during his recruitment dating back to 2021. Although most schools targeted Johnson as a wide receiver, head coach Marcus Freeman and safeties coach Chris O'Leary pitched him on playing safety. Johnson caught 69 passes for 1,081 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.
Following Johnson's commitment the Irish may be done recruiting safeties in the 2024 class beyond three-star recruit Davis Andrews, who plans to take a two-year mission before enrolling in college. Three-star recruits Oliver Miles III and Malcolm Ziglar remain undecided after making Notre Dame official visits earlier this month. Ziglar recently set a commitment date for July 17.
Notre Dame has added five commitments to its 2024 class in June: three-star defensive tackle Sean Sevillano Jr., four-star running back Kedren Young and three-star offensive tackle Styles Prescod, Bennie-Powell and Johnson.
The addition of Johnson improved Notre Dame's point total but kept the Irish at No. 3 in the Rivals team rankings for the 2024 class. The Irish are behind No. 1 Georgia (20 commits) and No. 2 Michigan (22). Only the top 20 commitments in a class contribute to a team's ranking.
Of Notre Dame's 21 commitments in the 2024 class, 12 are rated as four-star recruits by Rivals.
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