Notre Dame misses out of 5-star prospect, commits to former rival

Notre Dame football just couldn’t overcome distance on Saturday, as one of its top 2027 recruits decided to stay home and play for his local team which happens to be a “former” rival.

Athlete Honor Fa’alave-Johnson had the Irish as one of his finalists, but couldn’t leave California, and committed to the USC Trojans over the weekend. The 6-foot, 1-inch and 190-pound star also was considering Oregon, Miami, LSU and Texas, but it was the Trojans who won out for 247Sports No. 16 overall prospect in his class.

Advertisement

While Notre Dame lost out on Fa’alave-Johnson’s recruitment to USC, it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Proximity to home is always though to battle when your team is halfway across the country, but the Irish have been able to do it more than a few times.

Most likely a safety at the next level, Notre Dame still is in a good position to land multiple top 2027 targets at the position. Khalil Terry is currently committed, and the Irish are after other elite prospects at safety also.