Notre Dame Gets Defensive During Irish Invasion
- Max Uretsky
- Jun 27
- 5 min read
Following up on my previous article, which focused on the offensive standouts that showed up to this year's Irish Invasion, it's time to flip to the other side of the ball.
Photo by The Irish Tribune
Coming off the heels of commitments from 5-star Joey O'Brien and 4-star Khary Adams, who joined C/O 2026 standouts like 5-star Rodney Dunham, 4-star Thomas Davis Jr, 4-star Ayden Pouncey, and 4-star Ebenezer Ewetade among others, the buzz around the future of the Irish defense is growing like a wildfire. And although those players are yet to take a snap for Notre Dame, it doesn't mean you can't look beyond to the next class to begin the process of acquiring even more talent. Plenty of highly touted 2027 prospects showed up on campus for this year's annual recruiting camp, but there are four intriguing players I want to focus on today.
CB - Xavier Hasan (Raleigh, NC)
The No. 2 ranked player out of the state of North Carolina is a true game changer who tallied seven interceptions as a Sophomore. Hasan is athletically gifted and has the foot speed and change of direction to be a sticky Man corner. He has also proven to be very comfortable in Zone coverage, understanding proper depth to play with, along with a very good feel for reading the QB's eyes. He has the speed to close on in-breaking routes from off coverage, and does not allow himself to be stacked vertically. He has elite ball skills and forces plenty of turnovers while understanding how to play through the WR's hands. He is very dangerous with the ball in his own hands, both after a turnover and also on special teams in the return game. You may not always think of cornerbacks as the toughest players on defense, but Hasan has elite competitive toughness, never giving up on plays and showing a willingness to take on ball carriers aggressively. He is very viable in run support and is a good wrap-up tackler who can slip in a big hit once in a while as well. Hasan is a very clean prospect in all areas of the game, and I am calling my shot that he will be bumped to 5-star status before his high school career is finished.
LB - Ellis McGaskin (Mobile, AL)
McGaskin is a 3-star tackling machine who has compiled 273 total tackles and 5 sacks over his first two years of high school. He plays from both the "Sam" and "Mike" linebacker positions and has been very successful from each spot. He is very proficient at shooting gaps quickly vs the run, beating linemen to their spots to blow up plays in the backfield. He can hold the point of attack vs tight ends with relative ease, and does a good job of being explosive through his lower body to knock blockers off balance. He has very good eye discipline when it comes to reading counters and misdirections. He is a hit stick waiting to happen, punishing ball carriers and forcing fumbles in the process. McGaskin has excellent timing off the edge as a blitzer, and the top-end speed and closing burst to make QBs uncomfortable. He has some good awareness when asked to drop in Zone Coverage, and has the foot speed to carry tight ends up the seam and disrupt passing lanes. McGaskin possesses enough athletic ability to get out and cover the flats from his MLB position, limiting YAC on dump-off passes. On top of what he brings to the table as a linebacker, McGaskin has all the makings of a special teams ace. His speed, ability to beat blocks, and his prowess for making huge hits could make him the star of the coverage units. If there are any questions about just how athletically gifted McGaskin is, he also averaged almost 6 yards a carry, doubling as a running back, much like our next prospect.
DT - Jeremiah Williams (Tustin, CA)
That's right, the 300+ pound west coast product also plays running back, where he averaged over 5 yards per carry. Although that is beyond impressive, Williams' bread and butter is the defensive tackle position, where he dominated CIF Division 3 during his Sophomore campaign, racking up 10 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. Although Williams does not play in the toughest conference of California high school football, the skill set he shows on film would translate to any division, in my opinion. Williams can play as a nose tackle, 1-tech, 3-tech, and a little bit of everything in between. He has elite upfield burst, getting off the line of scrimmage explosively and pairing it with good pad level and balance. He has impressive use of hands, showing off a quick swim move he utilizes to get over linemen and mixes in a rip maneuver as well. Williams has plenty of power to Bull Rush and collapse the pocket up the middle. He can hold up vs double teams at the point of attack, making him useful in a two-gap system, and his top-level play strength shows rep after rep. Williams is very athletic for his size, showing the lateral quickness to jump in and out of gaps to be able to chase down runs to the outside. He has excellent closing speed and is a sure tackler once he gets his hands on the ball carrier or QB. His level of competition may not be among the best in the country, but if he continues to dominate the way he has, I still expect him to get a bump up to blue chip status before it is said and done.
EDGE - Isaac Miller (Waukesha, WI)
Miller is a bit more of a raw product that possesses NFL size, which makes him very intriguing. At 6'5" and 250 pounds, the Wisconsin native towers over a lot of his competitors in the high school ranks. He was 1st Team All-Conference as a Sophomore, and I'd be surprised if he didn't maintain that distinction through his Junior and Senior seasons as well. Miller has extremely good length, which he utilizes when it comes to getting his hands up in passing lanes. He had a lot of knockdowns at the LOS as a Sophomore, and he makes it very difficult for QBs to throw the ball over him. Miller can set the edge in the run game and disengage from blockers to make the tackle as the play comes to him. His play strength is already very evident, and with two more years of development to go as a high schooler, that's a scary situation for opposing offenses. Miller plays a little high at times, which is expected for someone who is bordering 6'6", but it does limit some of his leg drive, which will be needed to hold up against bigger and stronger offensive tackles. He has the arm length to be able to stack and shed blockers at an elite level once he elevates his use of hands off the line. There is still a lot of technique that needs to be worked on to become an elite edge defender, but the foundation vs the run and physical traits are there, and he should keep getting better.
2027 is shaping up to be another dynamic class, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Marcus Freeman is making Notre Dame the place to be, and the recent string of top-level recruits to land with the Blue and Gold has all signs pointing up for future classes. All, some, or none of the recruits in this article could end up in South Bend, but it shows Notre Dame is keeping their eyes squarely on the top talent in the country, knowing that players will want to join something special.
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