Florida's top defensive back John Gay III inks with Notre Dame, boosting their 2027 secondary with his physicality and versatile playmaking.
Notre Dame has added another talented defensive back to its 2027 class with John Gay III announcing a commitment to the Fighting Irish. Gay III committed to Notre Dame over Florida, Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
The 6-2, 180-pound safety visited Notre Dame for the first time this past weekend and clearly made a strong connection with the program. In very short order he had made a decision and he's now a member of the 2027 class. Gay's emergence as a prospect gives Notre Dame a third talented secondary player in the 2027 class. He joins big time cornerback Xavier Hasan and standout Ohio cornerback Ace Alston.
As a junior, Gay racked up 32 tackles, three tackles for loss, three pass break ups and an interception. He was the slot defender for the Lions, dominating as both a downhill run defender and a cover player. Part of the reason Gay doesn't have big time production is that teams simply don't challenge him much in the pass game. He's a physical, downhill slot defender that blows up perimeter run and perimeter screen throws. He's a smart defender that does a good job forcing ball carriers inside, that shows impressive route recognition and he takes strong angles to the football. His ability to play with great range in zone looks, and also run with shifty, slot defenders in the vertical pass game makes him a major force in the Chaminade-Madonna defense.
Athletically, Gay has an impressively long frame, which makes him a tough defender to throw over or around. He's a smooth athlete with a clean backpedal and an excellent ability to plant and drive downhill. Gay shows loose hips and sudden change of direction skills. As he cleans up his footwork, I expect Gay to really thrive as a coverage player in the Notre Dame defense. He's also a strong tackler that can be a force in space.
Gay is a versatile defender that could do a lot of different things in the Notre Dame defense. As stated above, he primarily plays in the nickel for Chaminade-Madonna, and that will likely be the first position he'll play when he arrives at Notre Dame. His length, range and instincts also project well at the safety position, where he could also thrive in the Notre Dame defense. That versatility was certainly appealing to the Notre Dame coaches, who want to build better depth at both nickel and safety with the 2027 class.
Gay is ranked as a three-star recruit by On3/Rivals and 247Sports, but he earned a 4.0-star, Top 250 caliber grade on the Irish Breakdown board. His length, range, playmaking ability, versatility and athleticism all grade out in the four-star range.
The Chaminade-Madonna standout earned offers from Texas A&M, Florida, Ole Miss, SMU, Auburn, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
Gay is the ninth player to commit to Notre Dame in the 2027 class. He joins Texas running back Lathan Whisenton, Massachusetts running back Isaiah Rogers, Pennsylvania offensive lineman James Halter, Wisconsin offensive lineman Richie Flanigan, Florida linebacker Amarri Irvin, Hasan, Alston, North Carolina cornerback Xavier Hasan, Ohio cornerback Ace Alston and North Carolina long snapper Sean Kraft.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!