Notre Dame football predicted to land dynamic defender from an area that scarred some Irish fans in the 2025 class

Notre Dame football has been riding a lot of momentum on the recruiting trail recently, especially on the defensive side of the football. With commitments recently from pass rushers Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade, as well as being in a great position with defensive tackle Tiki Hola who is announcing his college decision on May 10th, the Fighting Irish are in the process of putting together a dominant defensive class. It appears that could be continuing in the near future.

An expert prediction was put in on Thursday by On3 vice president of recruiting Steve Wiltfong for Notre Dame to land 2026 Winter Garden (Fla.) High School safety Ayden Pouncey. The Florida standout was recently in South Bend for an unofficial visit recently. The timing of this prediction is obviously very positive for the Fighting Irish.

Pouncey is a very well liked recruit from a rankings perspective. He is currently pegged as the No. 140 overall player, No. 11 safety, and No. 18 player in the state of Florida on the 247Sports Composite ranking. Each of the major recruiting platforms have Pouncey rated as a four-star recruit.

Notre Dame has been competing against some of the top programs in all of college football. Some of Pouncey’s top offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, Miami, Penn State, Nebraska, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, and Texas A&M among many others.

If Winter Garden sounds familiar, it’s the same hometown as Ivan Taylor in the 2025 recruiting class. Everyone, of course, remembers the saga around Taylor when he eventually flipped to Michigan. It wasn’t Taylor’s last flip either, and he ended up signing with Alabama. While not the same high school, the city certainly brought back painful flashbacks.

Pouncey is actually the younger brother of wide receiver Jordan Pouncey, who was actually committed to Notre Dame at one point. He ended up signing with Florida, and also spent time with the Texas Longhorns. His other brother Ethan Pouncey was a 2020 cornerback signee for the Gators.

The younger Pouncey would be a massive grab for the Irish. At around 6-3 and 170 pounds, Pouncey brings impressive range and upside.