Notre Dame’s 2019 recruiting class picked up a talented defensive back when provisional All-Time All-Name Team member Litchfield Ajavon announced for the Irish today. The 6’0″, 185-pound Virginian pushed the lever for the Irish after making his third visit to campus earlier this month; he attended Irish Invasion last June and also visited for the Miami (OH) game. Ajavon represents yet another head-to-head win over Michigan, who wanted him badly but never got serious traction. At #123 in the 247 Composite, he continues the recent trend of elite safety prospects for the Irish; with 2018 signees Houston Griffith (#70) and Derrik Allen (#106) signing and the game-tested Alohi Gilman transferring from Navy, the position has received an enormous infusion of talent.

Also, he’s looked like he’s 30 since he was a high school sophomore. Seriously. HE’S A MAN.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 Sports Composite — 4 star (.9228), #196 overall, #12 S, #6 in VA

247 Sports — 3 star (87 rating), #535 overall, #41 S, #11 in VA

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #79 overall, #5 S, #3 in VA

ESPN — 4 star (81 rating), #211 overall, #14 S, #6 in VA

Very much worth noting here that 247 had Ajavon ranked #132 overall and dropped him like a rock after his underwhelming performance at the New Jersey Nike regional. That drop in their own ranking also dropped him 73 spots in the Composite ranking. We’ll see if he drops in the other rankings as well, but… To drop a guy 400+ spots off a single camp performance seems pretty ridiculous.

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame and Michigan, Litchfield Ajavon holds offers from Clemson, Duke, Georgia, Lousiville, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Wisconsin, among others.

Highlights

Man, Ajavon hit some of those kids so hard I felt it. The first thing that stood out was how quickly he covers ground – whether it’s closing on a receiver from centerfield or crossing the formation on a sweep to the far side, he can move. The second thing, of course, is that when he moves he brings the lumber. Ajavon looks like the kind of safety who makes receivers hear the footsteps, you know? And speaking of footsteps… I really love his tackling technique. Yes, occasionally he goes for the knockout blow when maybe he shouldn’t, but generally speaking he has a linebacker’s footwork in the open field. He comes at full speed, then as he gets close breaks down to choppy steps, plants, and delivers the blow while wrapping up. Textbook.

He also does a good job of locating the ball when the play is away from him, and in general seems to have great field awareness. I love how busy his eyes are pre-snap – you can see him constantly scanning, checking, calculating. About the only thing I can pick on is the occasional inclination for the knockout; he’ll have to fix that or run the risk of taking himself out of the play at the next level. Otherwise, he looks like a pretty complete safety prospect.

Impact

With Griffith and Allen (and Gilman, effectively) in the 2018 class, it’s hard to predict that Litchfield Ajavon will make an immediate impact. However, I could definitely see him working his way onto the field at least as a special teams contributor right away. I’d expect him to fight his way into the rotation as a sophomore and possibly become a regular/starter as a junior, especially if Allen bulks up and moves down to rover or buck. No doubt in my mind that he’ll start at some point, and he’ll be a reliable performer when he does – he has all the tools to be a plus strong safety.

Welcome to the Irish family, Litchfield!