Notre Dame keeps stacking edge rushers with another blue-chip get

Notre Dame's defensive front has quietly become one of the best recruiting pitches in college football, and it just got another headliner. Darieon Prescott, a 2028 EDGE out of Bolingbrook, Illinois, announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish, picking Marcus Freeman's program over Oregon and Texas A&M.

Hayes Fawcett

@Hayesfawcett3

BREAKING: Elite 2028 EDGE Darieon Prescott has Committed to Notre Dame, he tells me for @Rivals The 6’5 250 EDGE chose the Fighting Irish over Oregon and Texas A&M He’s ranked as the No. 18 Recruit in the 2028 Rivals Industry Rankings ☘️ t.co/DVhNMenCTu

Per Rivals, Prescott checks in at 6-5, 250 pounds and sits at No. 18 in the industry's 2028 rankings — a legit top-20 national recruit picking his school three-plus years before he'll play a snap of college ball. Other outlets have him even higher: 247Sports has him as a five-star and its No. 7 overall player in the entire 2028 class, the No. 3 edge rusher in the country and the No. 2 prospect in Illinois. Whichever service you trust, the takeaway is the same — this isn't a project, it's a blue-chipper picking his spot early.

According to Rivals, Prescott pointed to Notre Dame's culture and coaching staff as the deciding factor, saying he loves their environment and play style. That's the kind of answer recruits give all the time, but it lines up with what's actually happening on the roster — Notre Dame keeps landing elite defensive linemen, and Prescott becomes the third d-lineman in Freeman's 2028 class already.

That's the real story here. Notre Dame isn't just picking off one good player, it's building a pipeline. With Prescott now in the fold alongside fellow Illinois edge target Kameron McGee reportedly high on the board, the Irish are positioning themselves to potentially land one of the best pairs of pass rushers any program has signed in years — out of the same state, in the same class.

It's also a statement in the Midwest recruiting wars. Beating Oregon and Texas A&M for a top-20 national talent from Illinois is exactly the kind of local-turned-national flex Notre Dame needs to keep proving it can win against the SEC and Big Ten's biggest spenders. Prescott is 3 years out from signing day, but with Freeman's staff already stacking defensive line talent this early, the Irish's 2028 board is starting to look like a problem for everyone else on the recruiting trail.