Official visits have begun, and June \u2014 one of the most important months on the recruiting calendar \u2014 is just around the corner. With schools having wrapped up their 2026 classes in February, it\u2019s full steam ahead for the Class of 2027, which is headlined by five-star Texas Tech defensive line commit Jalen Brewster and five-star corner John Meredith III out of Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s dive into what\u2019s going on for prospects and schools alike.<\/p>\n
Note: All rankings are from the 247Sports Composite.<\/p>\n
Notre Dame\u2019s South Florida push<\/p>\n
Fernando Mendoza just made history, becoming the first South Florida high school product since Tucker Frederickson in 1965 to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s hardly a secret that Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties produce elite college football recruits every year.<\/p>\n
What does change year to year \u2014 in part because of staff changes across the sport \u2014 is which programs make the area a priority in their recruiting efforts. Notre Dame, clearly, is one of those programs of late.<\/p>\n
This week, the Irish landed commitments from two South Florida recruits in the 2027 cycle: four-star safety Zayden Gamble of St. Thomas Aquinas and three-star safety John Gay of Chaminade-Madonna.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually had Marcus Freeman down for the first time at our school in January,\u201d said West Boca coach Dylan Potts, whose team has won back-to-back Class 6A state championships. \u201cObviously, (running backs coach) Ja\u2019Juan Seider came over from Penn State last year, and he\u2019s a Glades Central alumnus who has always recruited South Florida hard. So, they\u2019re getting a little more active down here for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potts said Notre Dame heavily pursued West Boca 2026 four-star running back Javian Mallory, but he ended up signing with Miami.<\/p>\n
The Irish remain heavily invested in other South Florida-area targets, including 2027 four-star receiver Julius Jones from Aquinas, whose father was a running back at Notre Dame in the early 2000s.<\/p>\n
Another big South Florida target for the Irish: 2028 four-star quarterback Neimann Lawrence of Plantation American Heritage<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMarcus and I have talked in the past, but he\u2019d never been here before January, at least since I\u2019ve been the head coach,\u201d American Heritage coach Mike Smith said. \u201cHe said he hadn\u2019t been here to visit since he was coaching at Cincinnati.\u201d<\/p>\n Notre Dame signed four players from the Sunshine State in the 2026 cycle, but none were from South Florida. The Irish\u2019s last signee from South Florida was 2025 three-star defensive lineman Davion Dixon from Miami Palmetto.<\/p>\n 2028 QB Niemann Lawrence shows nice touch on this TD pass to 2028 WR Eric McFarland @NEIMANLAWRENCE1<\/a> @cantguarderic<\/a> @SouthFLExpress<\/a> @IMGAFootball<\/a> @mnw_fb<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/YAMi7JuiF4<\/a><\/p>\n