SIGNED: S Litchfield Ajavon

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Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal safety Litchfield Ajavon has submitted his National Letter of Intent to Notre Dame.

Rivals: 4.0 stars (No. 3 prospect in Virginia, and No. 5 safety and No. 87 overall player in the nation)
BGI Grade: 4.0 (top-250 player)
Upside Grade: 4.5

Holds a personal record of 15.07 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and a 42.66 in the 4x100 relay. Registered a 4.65-second 40-yard dash, a 4.39-second shuttle and a 33.7-inch vertical jump at Nike Football’s The Opening Regional New Jersey.

SENIOR SEASON: Recorded 70 tackles, two forced fumbles, one sack, an interception and a special teams touchdown.

JUNIOR SEASON: 72 total tackles (35 solo).

• First-team All-Interstate Athletic Conference on defense.
• Named second-team all-state by the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association in 2017.

POWER FIVE OFFERS: Clemson, Duke, Georgia, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Penn State, Pitt, Syracuse, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Wisconsin

Ajavon took an unofficial visit to Notre Dame April 12 and announced his commitment to the Irish April 21, right after the annual Blue-Gold Game wrapped up.

The four-star completely shut down his recruitment following his commitment announcement and did not take any other visits prior to signing with the Irish.

Ajavon was primarily recruited to Notre Dame by cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght and safeties coach Terry Joseph. He took an official visit to Notre Dame Sept. 29 for the 38-17 win over Stanford.

• Born on May 19, 2001.
• Also competes in the 300-meter hurdles and 4x100 relay for Episcopal’s track team.
• Played on the Epic7 DMV seven-on-seven team.

Ajavon could factor into the special teams equation as a true freshman, but competing for playing time at safety will be extremely difficult in year one.

Ajavon has the potential to be a productive two-way player in the Notre Dame defense, which coordinator Clark Lea has admitted is dependent on strong safety play to truly thrive. We saw that first hand in 2018. Right now the Episcopal standout is at his best defending the run, but he is asked to do a little bit of everything at the prep level and he possesses the tools to continue developing his pass game skills.

At 6-0 and 185 pounds with a thin, athletic frame, Ajavon has above-average size for the safety position. He is a physical defender that is more than willing to fly downhill and deliver punishment, and his power took a jump as a senior. He also shows the willingness to jump routes in an attempt to hammer a wide receiver.

After some time in a college weight room and with more physical maturity, Ajavon should have the tools to carry over his strong play against the run to the college game. At times Ajavon tries to deliver knock out hits and fails to wrap up, but once he works that out of his game he'll be a strong tackler.

He takes good angles to the football in the run game and pass game and shows good instincts and a high football IQ when he's on the field. His tackling was far more sound as a senior and even when he went for big hits he wrapped up better than than her did as a junior. Ajavon shows above average foot quickness and his movements on the football field are easy. At times his footwork gets out of whack and it slows him down getting off the hash, but when he keeps his feet underneath his shoulder pads and keeps them tight he's able to make fast transitions off the hash.

Improvements with his footwork will also help him improve his man coverage skills, which right now is the part of his game that needs the most work.

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