SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Bralan Womack had a lot to say about Notre Dame.
So much so that the 2026 safety recruit from Flowood (Miss.) Hartfield Academy spoke for more than two minutes straight when asked what a Notre Dame offer meant to him. Womack received an offer from head coach Marcus Freeman following Sunday’s Irish Invasion camp.
“It means a lot,” Womack said. “Like Coach Freeman said, Notre Dame is an offer that when you get it, it doesn’t just give you glory in football. It gives you glory in life.
“Football is going to deflate one day. When it does, you have to have something to look forward to. When you’re at a place like Notre Dame that when you have that degree in your hands, whatever you apply for after football, that degree immediately goes to the top of the sheet. Just because it’s Notre Dame.
“It’s just a great offer to have. Extremely blessed, because not many people can have this offer.”
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Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi made a trip down to Hartfield Academy in May to see Womack. It felt like only a matter of time until the Irish joined an offer list that already included Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. When Womack decided to compete in the Irish Invasion, it made for the perfect opportunity to follow through on the offer in person.
The 6-foot, 187-pound Womack lived up to the hype during the camp. He proved to be a sticky defender with natural athleticism and intercepted a pass in one-on-ones. It was easy to understand why Rivals ranks Womack as the No. 5 safety and No. 63 overall in the 2026 class.
Womack intercepted seven passes and made 26 tackles as a sophomore defender at Hartfield Academy. He also caught 32 passes for 562 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Now the Irish have become instant contenders in Womack’s recruitment.
“They’re definitely up there,” Womack said. “I’m just extremely blessed. I can’t put it into words. It’s just the offer I’ve worked very hard for. Knowing that I had the opportunity, it kind of made me push forward. I looked a little sloppy out there today.
“This is my first actual workout back from a hamstring injury. But I think I competed at a high level, and that’s what they wanted to see. I lost a couple reps. I won a couple reps. But at the end of the day, I gave it my all every rep. I think that’s what they looked at most.”
Sunday marked only the halfway point of Womack’s Notre Dame visit. He planned to stick around Monday to watch Notre Dame’s returning players work out and play golf with 2025 quarterback commit Deuce Knight, a fellow Mississippi native. Womack’s father and uncle joined him for the trip to South Bend.
Knight and Womack know each other from playing on the same Coastline Stars 7-on-7 team. They’ll compete together this weekend at the OT7 Championship in Tampa, Fla. Womack expects to hear plenty from Knight about the Irish.
“He doesn’t really have to be in my ear. I see it for myself,” Womack said. “It’s a great place, a great opportunity to not only be a great football player but a great young man and change the world.
“That’s the biggest thing about Notre Dame: they change the world. It’s a national program. It’s known around not just the United States but around the world. Coach Marty said you can go to Hawaii, which is in the United States but it’s away, you can go to Germany, you’re going to see somebody with a Notre Dame degree. That can take you miles and miles farther than just people that want to go to the NFL.”
Womack sees Knight as an example of a star player from Mississippi taking advantage of his opportunities to leave the South. Womack isn’t predicting that he will do the same, but he’s adamant about being open to doing so.
With Knight repping the Irish so hard, Womack could be influenced to join him.
“He’s very vocal about Notre Dame,” Womack said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Deuce outside of his house with something other than Notre Dame. I’m pretty sure he has a Notre Dame pajama suit at his house that he probably sleeps in every night. He probably has a bed cover of Notre Dame.
“He’s very vocal about Notre Dame. He’s going to tell you why they’re the best school to go to. He’s just a great guy.”
Womack also has another connection to Notre Dame in junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison. Womack has trained with Morrison in the past, so he understands the success Morrison found quickly at Notre Dame under defensive backs coach Mike Mickens.
“B-Mo’s a great guy. A guy that I look up to,” Womack said. “He has that posture. You see a lot of athletes walk around, but he walks around like he has a purpose. He knows what he’s here for. He knows how to get it done.
“Everything he does inside and outside that rectangle is at 100%. He’s going to know when he walks away from it, he gave it his all.”
Womack planned to maximize his Notre Dame visit on Monday by spending more time observing the Irish. He specifically wanted to see more of Notre Dame’s coaching staff interacting with its players.
“I know Coach Freeman interacts with his players very well. They have a great bond. I just really want to see a lot of competitiveness and a lot of learning.
“Coach Marty said it’s not much teaching. He makes it as real or game-like as possible. It’s not going to be: give them the call and then tell them what to do. It’s going to be: give them the call, see how they react, then teach them after. Because in the game, you’re not going to be hand-in-hand with a coach.”
If Monday goes as well for Womack as Sunday did, the Irish should be cemented as a major threat in his recruitment.
“Great campus, great weather. It’s very different. I like it,” Womack said. “It’s peaceful. It touched a spot in my heart. I’m just grateful.”
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