Unpacking the game-changing skills of Miami defensive back John Gay III, whose length and physicality project him as Notre Dame's next star nickel.
Notre Dame landed another talented secondary commitment with Florida standout John Gay III joining the class. The Irish landed Gay by beating out Florida, Ole Miss, Florida State and many other programs.
Let's take a look at the commit profile for Gay.
JOHN GAY III PROFILE
Hometown/High School: Miami, Fla./Chaminade-Madonna
Height/Weight: 6-2, 180
IB Grade: 4.0 (Top 250 caliber prospect)
Upside Grade: 4.5 (Top 75 caliber prospect)
2025 Stats: 32 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 break ups, 1 INT
Recruited By: Aaron Henry
Offers: Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Florida, Ole Miss, SMU, Auburn, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Missouri, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Syracuse, Wake Forest
RECRUITING RANKINGS
247Sports: 3-star - No. 63 safety
On3: 3-star - No. 67 safety
247Sports Composite: 3-star - No. 720 overall - No. 70 safety
On3 Consensus: 3-star - No. 831 overall - No. 91 safety
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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