Notre Dame continued its hot start in the 2023 class today when top 100 corner Justyn Rhett announced for the Irish. Based on a sterling June visit, Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman took a commanding lead for the 6’1”, 192 pound Nevadan and never relinquished it.

Rhett did make the rounds a bit over the summer, most notably visiting Georgia and Alabama around the same time he visited Notre Dame. About a month ago he named a top five of Notre Dame, Georgia, Oklahoma, Alabama, and Tennessee. Were those other schools legitimate threats to land him? Or did he add them to his final five just because their first letters spell GOAT? We may never know.

Recruiting Service Rankings

247Sports Composite — 4 star (.9544 rating), #101 overall, #10 CB, #2 in NV

247Sports — 4 star (90 rating), #239 overall, #22 CB, #3 in NV

Rivals — 4 star (5.9 rating), #50 overall, #8 CB, #2 in NV

ESPN — 4 star (85 rating), #64 overall, #7 CB, #2 in NV

Irish Sports Daily — 4 star (92 rating)

Cohort

In addition to Notre Dame, Rhett holds offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and USC, among others.

Highlights

Marcus Freeman likes press man corners. It’s why Notre Dame tried to land then-Tulsa CB Akayleb Evans as a grad transfer for 2021. In Justyn Rhett, Freeman will have an excellent press man corner who’s more than a one year rental. Rhett is one of the more physical coverage guys I can remember Notre Dame landing, and he shows it over and over on this film. He plays with some alpha dog edge too; even as a sophomore in 2020 he was leveling dudes and letting them know about it.

His long speed wasn’t on display here, but again on sophomore film – when he played more offense – he shows plenty. I didn’t see anything of him playing zone, and I have no idea how much he plays now. That’s a potential adjustment for him at the next level. Generally though he shows outstanding change of direction, speed, and especially toughness.

Impact

I know he hasn’t even played his senior year of high school yet, but I think Rhett has the look of a freshman contributor. He’s already college sized and has that rough mentality – he’s not going to be overwhelmed physically even in his first season. I think Rhett has the profile to be in the rotation as a freshman and possibly starting as early as his sophomore season. He’s a special talent.

Welcome to the Irish family, Justyn!