Notre Dame added a commitment from Valrico (Fla.) Bloomingdale cornerback Philip Riley on Tuesday, giving the Irish a big-time four-star pledge.
Riley is Notre Dame’s second defensive back commitment of the 2021 class, joining Bolingbrook (Ill.) High safety Justin Walters. The Fighting Irish are off to a great start in defensive back recruiting, landing a pair of prospects the staff coveted.
Moving forward, what is next for the Irish in the secondary? BlueandGold.com recruiting insider Mike Singer breaks it down.
Let’s start with the prospects who my sources have identified as the priority targets for the Fighting Irish.
Although Gaithersburg (Md.) Quince Orchard’s Ryan Barnes isn’t ranked very highly right now as a mid-three-star, (I’m interested to see if he will move up in the rankings update next week) there is no doubt that he is a high level prospect. Notre Dame has been on him hard since offering him in late March. I’m not at a point of tossing in a FutureCast pick yet, but Notre Dame is looking great for the versatile defensive back.
Denton (Texas) Guyer cornerback Deuce Harmon is another big target for Notre Dame. Harmon isn’t much of a talker publicly, and from what I have gathered, there is not much new to report on him. I do think Notre Dame is running third in his recruitment with Texas and Texas A&M out in front, but if Harmon is able to visit South Bend then watch out for the Fighting Irish.
