3-Star Florida Safety John Gay III commits to Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish saw a safety decommit this past week, but quickly gained another to its fold. On Wednesday, 3-Star safety John Gay III gave his public commitment to Marcus Freeman and the 2027 Nore Dame Football recruiting class.

The 6’1” 190 pound safety from Chaminade-Madonna High School in Hollywood, Florida, chose the Irish over the Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Ole Miss Rebels, and many more.

From 247:

-Instinctive defensive back that pairs good size with good speed.
-Spent much of junior season in the nickel for one of South Florida’s top talent-producing programs and constantly made plays.
-Owns an impressive stop rate as an open-field tackler with his technique and aggression.
-Fluid in his transitions from zone looks and quick to pass off assignments.
-Makes timely breaks on passes in traffic and gets in front of pass catchers.
-Should be viewed as a potential multi-year contributor at the Power Four level that can be positioned in the slot or over the top of the defense.

View Link

John Gay III is is now the 9th commitment in Notre Dame’s 2027 class — a class that now ranks #10 overall in the nation according to the 247 Team Composite Rankings.

POSITION	PLAYER	STATE	HT	WT	RIVALS	RIVALS INDUSTRY	247 SPORTS	247 COMPOSITE	ESPN	COMMIT DATE
LS	Sean Craft	NC	6’4″	215	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️	6/24/25
DL	Richie Flanigan	WI	6’3″	263	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	9/25/25
OL	James Halter	PA	6’5″	268	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️	⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Notre Dame has built a nice roster over the years at the safety position. While gay’s current 3-Star ranking goes against the grain a little bit compared to what they have, the Irish see plenty of potential with Gay and are excited about the multiple things he brings to the table.

Player/Class	Freshmen	Sophomore	Junior	Senior	Graduate
Quarterback	–	Noah Grubbs, Teddy Jarrard	Blake Hebert	C.J. Carr	–
Running Back	Lathan Whisenton, Isaiah Rogers	Javian Osborne, Jonaz Walton	Nolan James	Aneyas Williams, Kedren Young	–
Tight End	–	Preston Fryzel, Ian Premer	James Flanigan	Jack Larsen	Cooper Flanagan
Wide Receiver	–	Dylan Faison, Bubba Frazier, Kaydon Finley, Devin Fitzgerald, Brayden Robinson	Elijah Burress, Jerome Bettis Jr., Quincy Porter	Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, Logan Saldate, Mylan Graham	–
Center	–	–	Cameron Herron	–	Joe Otting
Guard	–

The Notre Dame recruiting machine keeps rolling. The Irish aren’t backing down after locking up the best class in school history last year, and over the next couple of months, we will see how Freeman and company continue to load up in South Bend.