We are working our way through Notre Dame’s 2025 recruiting class composed of 24 signees from all over the United States. Today we’re taking a look at one of the strongest positions on the team looking to further cement the depth and talent in South Bend.
Cornerback Dallas Golden
Bio:
Golden played high school ball at Berkeley Prep in Tampa, Florida. You may remember this as the same school in Notre Dame recruiting world while chasing Nelson Agholor, and most recently, Keon Keeley. He played both safety and cornerback in high school in addition to running back. Golden was recruited by nearly everyone for defense, particularly corner, but he did rush for nearly 2,900 yards over his final 2 seasons at Berkeley and was one of the best offensive weapons on Florida high school.
Ranking:
92nd overall, 2nd ATH, 13th in Florida with a 0.9530 Composite score.
Size:
This won’t be an overall large group of corners recruited by Notre Dame this cycle but Golden is the most solidly built, fitting as he played running back. He was listed as tall as 6’1″ by recruiting sites but gets knocked down to 6’0″ on the Irish recruiting page. As we know, no corners are listed under 6’0″ unless they are roughly 5’9″ or so.
Golden is only 180 pounds but that’s decent for a true freshman. He will probably settle in around 190-192 in a couple years is my best guess. He’s built pretty solidly in his upper body and could add more weight in his lower half.
Hype Factor: 8.5/10
There weren’t very many better overall players in Florida for the 2025 cycle than Dallas Golden. He’s not enrolled for spring but there will be a fierce fight for some backup cornerback minutes and I wouldn’t count him out from that competition. Plus, his skills on offense could translate to some special teams work as a return man.
Outlook: Golden Future
We can’t close the door completely to Golden playing safety (or running back!) although his future does look set on playing corner for the Irish. Some of the scouting around his playing style likes his athleticism more as a slot corner, although we’ll see if that comes to fruition in the next couple years. I personally think he has enough length to be a future no. 1 corner on the outside for Notre Dame.
Cornerback Cree Thomas
Bio:
Notre Dame has dipped back into Brophy College Prep in Phoenix, Arizona for Cree Thomas, the same school as former Irish long-snapper J.J. Jansen and more recently All-American corner Benjamin Morrison. He was offered in the spring of 2023 and would commit to Notre Dame during the middle of that 2023 season.
Ranking:
489th overall, 42nd S, 5th in Arizona with a 0.8892 Composite score.
Size:
Thomas is the only corner from this cycle to be enrolled early. If his official size from the University is to be believed, he will be the tallest from this group at 6’1″ which looks to be accurate–he is bang on the same height as head coach Marcus Freeman in their pictures together.
Thomas is a bit light at a listed 176 pounds, though. I love his physicality though and he could definitely be a tough corner even if he ends up under 190 pounds.
Hype Factor: 6.5/10
Thomas is easily a top 300 prospect in my estimation. Notre Dame offered and despite playing at one of the better schools in a growing football state like Arizona he never really moved up the rankings much nor picked up many other offers. His other top offers ended up being both Arizona schools plus Oregon.
Outlook: Position Switch
Thomas may not have the size right away to play safety and he’ll be practicing this spring where there’s a lot more opportunity to see the field at corner. Whether he stays there long-term might be up in the air. I think he’s probably a slightly better prospect overall as a safety but he could be a fascinating hard-hitting corner and maybe a nickelback with a lot of havoc potential, too.
Cornerback Mark Zackery
Bio:
Notre Dame kept one of the top prospects in Indiana in-state this cycle. Zackery played at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, with former alumni including Irish linebacker Asmar Bilal. He was offered by Notre Dame in the early summer of 2023 and ended up with several high profile schools pursuing him including Alabama, Florida, USC, Penn State, Ohio State, Georgia, and Oregon. Zackery committed to Notre Dame just over a year since being offered.
Ranking:
180th overall, 19th CB, 2nd in Indiana with a 0.9285 Composite score.
Size:
Zackery is more on the thin side, he’s definitely someone with more of a basketball frame (he was a top basketball player for Ben Davis) while being listed at 6’0″ in height.
There were plenty of sub-170 weights for Zackery throughout the recruiting process. On his Irish recruiting landing page they do list him right at 170 pounds, though.
Hype Factor: 7.5/10
Zackery is highly rated, has a great offer list, and Notre Dame seems to do really well with most Indiana state prospects. There’s a lot to like! He’s not an early enrollee, is too thin, and had surgery on his thumb late in 2024, but offers some elite athletic traits at corner.
Outlook: Protein Shakes
Zackery reminds me a lot of Christian Gray’s body and playing style coming out of high school. Gray has that lean midsection but did come to Notre Dame weighing 189 pounds where he currently resides on the 2025 roster. No matter how quick he is, Zackery has to work on getting bigger and stronger. We’ll also need to see how he holds up as a tackler because the current starters at Notre Dame are some of the best tackling corners in the nation.
