Notre Dame secures versatile defensive back John Gay III, bolstering secondary depth and addressing immediate needs at nickel and safety.
Notre Dame has landed a commitment from Florida defensive back John Gay III. Landing Gay is a strong pickup for the Irish, and the Notre Dame staff beat out Florida, Ole Miss and other programs to land this talented defender.
Let's look at the class impact for Gay.
NOTRE DAME CLASS IMPACT
Gay is the ninth player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2027 class. He is the fourth defensive player and the third defensive back to commit to the Irish. He is currently the only player in the class that projects as nickel and a safety.
Notre Dame landed the nation's top secondary class in 2026, signing elite safety Joey O'Brien and star Khary Adams, as well as big time cornerback Ayden Pouncey, smooth cover man Chas Smith and nickel defender Nick Reddish. That class gave the Irish a major boost in depth and talent, but the Irish have had some thinner classes before that, and transfer portal defections have shortened the future depth chart at safety and nickel. This becomes especially problematic if Tae Johnson and Adon Shuler go pro after the 2026 season.
Landing at least one player who projects best at nickel was ideal in this class, and landing safeties is vitally important in this class. That's what makes the Gay commitment so impactful. He projects first as a nickel, where his range and playmaking skills is ideally suited. It's also the position he plays for Miami, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna. But if the Irish come up short at safety, or if safety gets him on the field faster, Gay could easily move back to the third level of the defense and project as a starting caliber player. Landing two more safeties is the goal and the need, but having a versatile player like Gay helps ease the damage should the Irish come up short.
NOTRE DAME FIT
The Notre Dame coaches view Gay as a nickel defender first when projecting him to the next level. The good news is Gay plays in the slot for Chaminade-Madonna, so you don't have to worry about projecting whether or not he could make that transition. There's already a lot of film of Gay playing in the slot both as a press defender and playing more off/zone looks. He thrives at both as a prep defender and he projects very well to that position in college. His length, range, instincts and tackling ability also project well to safety, where he could play if the need arises, or the opportunity to get on the field arises in a situation where the Irish already have strong depth at nickel.
FILM ANALYSIS
Notre Dame has thrived with shorter, quicker, cornerback type of players at nickel in recent seasons but it seems as though the staff wants to change that. That is where Gay comes into the mix. He's listed between 6-1 and 6-2, but whatever he is there's no doubt he has impressive length. That length allows him to cover a lot of ground, but also makes him a difficult defender to throw the ball over or around. Gay also has a strong, athletic build and he plays a physical game. His play strength is already strong as a junior, and he's only going to get stronger.
That strength and his willingness to be a physical defender is a great attribute for the slot. Gay bullies high school wide receivers who try to block him, which allows him to blow up any plays that try to get outside of him. He also shows good assignment awareness and does a great job attacking the outside of blockers and forcing the ball back inside to his help. He's strong at the point of attack as a blocker, and he also uses his length and strong hands to disrupt wide receivers on vertical releases.
Gay is a smooth athlete that shows easy transition ability. There is some workout video of him doing backpedal drills and he stays right in line. His footwork can cause him to be a bit tight at times, but when his feet are right he shows clean hips and natural open up and run skills. He also shows the suddenness you want in a defensive back. Gay has really good plant and drive skills. That means he's able to plant on his back foot, stop his pedal and immediately explode downhill in one clean, fast, explosive movement. His length and range allows him to cover a lot of ground when working downhill.
While he lacks the elite speed of a player like Leonard Moore or Tae Johnson, Gay shows a lot of range as a player. He's probably in the same range as players like Adon Shuler, Xavier Watts, Jordan Clark and Devonta Smith from a speed standpoint. The fact he's at least an inch (if not two) taller and longer than those defenders I just mentioned is why he plays so fast on film. Gay uses his length as a weapon, just like uses his power well in coverage. He covers a lot of ground, and when you combine that with high obviously high football IQ you can see why offenses spend so much time avoiding him in the pass game.
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