Notre Dame Lands Elite 2028 Edge Rusher Darieon Prescott

Notre Dame added one of the most coveted defensive prospects in the entire 2028 recruiting class on Monday afternoon, as Bolingbrook, Illinois, edge rusher Darieon Prescott announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish live on The Pat McAfee Show, choosing Notre Dame over finalists Oregon and Texas A&M. The announcement capped a recruitment that stretched back nearly a full calendar year and included four separate trips to South Bend, each one drawing Prescott closer to the program that ultimately won him over.

Prescott is widely considered a future five star prospect and one of the top overall players in the entire 2028 class, regardless of position. His commitment continues what has become a stunning run of elite defensive line recruiting for Notre Dame under head coach Marcus Freeman and, most recently, new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.

Speaking live on The Pat McAfee Show alongside his parents, Prescott explained in detail why he chose Notre Dame after narrowing his list to three elite programs.

"I love Notre Dame," Prescott said. "I love everything about it, the environment, the intensity they play with during practice and games, the coaching staff and the players. I enjoy everything about Notre Dame. I love how highly they value academics and how strong the culture is. At Bolingbrook, we talk about responsibility, accountability and culture, and I feel that Notre Dame has the same motto. Whether it's academics, football or anything, Notre Dame carries itself really well."

Prescott, who cannot formally sign a National Letter of Intent until December 2027, made clear that his decision to commit so early in the process, ahead of even his junior season of high school football, was intentional. He wanted to plant a flag for the rest of his recruiting class.

"I just really wanted to set the tone for the 2028 class," Prescott told ESPN. "Being a highly rated recruit, I want them to know when it's time, it's time. I don't want them to wait it out. I got the feeling that this is right and I'm making my move." He echoed that sentiment in comments to other outlets after the announcement, adding, "I'm focused on Notre Dame. Being one of the top players in the 2028 class, I wanted to set the tone. God helped show me that it was the right time to commit."

Shortly after Prescott's announcement went public, Freeman himself made a surprise appearance on the same broadcast. NCAA rules prevented him from commenting directly on Prescott or any specific recruit, but the timing of his cameo was widely understood as a celebration of the commitment. Asked by McAfee what he looks for in a recruit generally, Freeman offered a glimpse into the program's broader recruiting philosophy.

"We're looking for the best football players in the country who fit this place," Freeman said. "We're not a big city. It's a small college town where you have to go to class and will be challenged academically."

While Prescott had been on Notre Dame's radar since the fall of 2025, when he made game day visits for the Purdue and USC games under the recruitment of then assistant coach Al Washington, it was a spring visit in March that many around the program now point to as the true turning point in his recruitment.

Prescott was originally scheduled to spend a busy weekend crisscrossing the country, with two days planned in College Station to see Texas A&M before heading on to Nebraska. He was not due back in South Bend until the end of April. But as the weekend approached, Prescott made the decision to rearrange his entire schedule so he could get back to Notre Dame sooner, a move that immediately signaled to the Irish coaching staff just how serious his interest had become.

"I had to get back there earlier," Prescott told Irish Breakdown at the time. "I had to change my schedule. I wanted to see the Irish practice, see the culture and revisit with the coaches and staff. The love at Notre Dame is different, and they kept trying to get me down there sooner, and I wanted to come."

That March 28 visit, which allowed Prescott to watch Notre Dame's spring practice up close, became a defining moment in his recruitment for reasons that went beyond football. Prescott and his father spent extended time that weekend with Freeman personally, a conversation Prescott later described as pivotal to how he viewed the program and its head coach.

"He's someone I truly respect in football," Prescott said of Freeman following the visit. "He's a great coach and outside of football, he's a great father. He knows what it takes to make it, and he's a great example to his players. He holds his players to a high standard, but he's just like them, because he holds himself to a standard too. He helped us understand everything about Notre Dame football."

The visit left such an impression that Prescott began planning his return to campus before he had even left South Bend that weekend, a sign that Notre Dame had firmly established itself as the frontrunner in his recruitment even with two other blue chip programs still very much in the mix.

Prescott made good on that plan, returning to Notre Dame's campus on June 18 for what became his fourth visit to South Bend in less than a year, and the trip that ultimately sealed his decision. It was during that visit that Prescott spent significant time with Partridge, Notre Dame's first year defensive line coach, in a conversation Prescott later identified as the exact moment he knew where he wanted to commit.

"It was definitely during that conversation with Coach Partridge," Prescott said when asked when it clicked for him that Notre Dame was the right choice. "We were talking for a long time."

Reflecting on that same trip afterward, Prescott made clear that the consistency of his experience in South Bend, visit after visit, had become the deciding factor over programs like Oregon and Texas A&M, both of which hosted him for visits of their own earlier in June.

"I loved the experience in South Bend," Prescott said. "The coaches and staff were great, and the environment and experience were wonderful. Going there more and more is an eye opener for me and my family with how great the Irish are. They are continuing to improve on my list of committable places. Coach Partridge and Coach Freeman are great guys and great coaches who know their stuff. Go Irish."

He also credited the film sessions and coaching style he witnessed firsthand during that visit as a major factor in his growing comfort with the program. "I just got to see the way that they coached, watched film and got to have a good conversation with Coach Partridge and Coach Freeman," Prescott told ESPN. "It was just a really good experience. Going on other visits, I always feel different when I came to Notre Dame, especially the environment."

By the time Prescott set his commitment date for July 27, live on ESPN, the outcome was considered close to a formality among those who had followed his recruitment closely, even with Oregon and Texas A&M still technically in contention.

Prescott's recruiting profile places him firmly among the elite prospects in the entire 2028 class, regardless of position, across every major recruiting service.

On the Rivals Industry Ranking, Prescott sits at No. 18 overall nationally and No. 5 among edge rushers in the class. On 247Sports, he ranks as the No. 18 overall prospect and No. 5 edge rusher on the composite rankings, while his individual 247Sports ranking has him even higher, at No. 7 overall nationally and No. 3 among edge rushers, a number widely expected to push him into outright five star territory as his recruitment progresses. ESPN slots Prescott at No. 36 overall in its SC Next ESPN Junior 300 and rates him as the No. 7 edge rusher in the class. Across every service, Prescott ranks as one of the very best players to come out of the state of Illinois in recent memory, with 247Sports composite rankings placing him as the top player in the state for the 2028 cycle.

Physically, Prescott has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past year. Listed at 6 foot 4 and around 220 pounds during his freshman season, he has since added roughly 30 to 35 pounds of mass, now checking in between 250 and 255 pounds depending on the source, while retaining the same first step quickness and closing speed that made him a priority recruit in the first place. Bolingbrook defensive line coach Jon Binish, who works with Prescott daily, described the transformation simply: Prescott matured physically, hasn't lost a step off the ball, and hasn't lost the speed that scouts were drawn to in the first place.

Prescott's on field production, as recorded via MaxPreps for his sophomore season at Bolingbrook High School, backs up every bit of the recruiting hype. He finished the year with 65 total tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 26 quarterback hurries, 8 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, and 2 blocked kicks, a remarkably complete statistical profile for an edge rusher still just entering his junior season. The production earned him a spot on Rivals' Sophomore All America Second Team, further validating his status as one of the top underclassmen in the country regardless of class.

More than any single ranking or statistic, Prescott's recruitment ultimately came down to relationships, specifically the ones he built with Partridge and Freeman over the course of his four visits to campus. Partridge, who joined Notre Dame's staff in January, wasted little time establishing himself as one of the most effective recruiters on the defensive side of the ball, and Prescott's commitment marks yet another notable name added to his growing list of blue chip pledges in his first several months on the job.

Freeman, for his part, continued a pattern that has defined his tenure at Notre Dame: building personal, father to father relationships with the families of his top targets, not just selling a football program but a broader environment and value system that resonated with Prescott and his parents across multiple visits. The bond between Prescott and Freeman, cemented during that pivotal March conversation and reinforced again in June, proved to be every bit as important to the recruitment as anything that happened on the practice field.

Prescott's commitment also continues a broader trend for the Fighting Irish along the defensive line. He joins a 2028 class that already includes kicker Owen Davies and three star safety Andre Jones, and his pledge follows a run of elite edge rushers committing to Notre Dame in consecutive recruiting cycles, including five star prospects in the 2026 and 2027 classes before him. Together, that trio represents what many recruiting analysts already consider the best stretch of edge rusher recruiting in Notre Dame history, a run that shows little sign of slowing down under Freeman and Partridge.

Prescott has already indicated he plans to make multiple return trips to South Bend this fall, even with his commitment locked in, a sign of just how much the relationships built over the past year continue to mean to him as his recruitment moves forward.