Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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PREP PROFILES 50 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED The Notre Dame staff offered Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic class of 2026 safety Blaine Bradford last May a couple weeks before seeing him at one of their pros- pect camps. The Irish have been considered one of the elite re- cruit's options for the past year, but he hadn't been to South Bend since June 2023. That changed July 25. Bradford returned to campus for the Irish's "Grill and Chill" re- cruiting event, and the return visit went well for the nation's No. 1 safety per On3. "It was a good, fun experience," Brad- ford said. "The highlights were talking to other people — the commits and the targets. I got to interact with them." Bradford has taken a handful of col- lege visits, but the Grill and Chill is a unique one. Rather than various tours and meetings, Thursday was all about fun and games. Literally. The recruits had a home run derby, three-point shootout, the famous "Irish Ball" and more. "Yeah — how competitive ev- erything was and how much the coaches were in- volved with ev- erything," Brad- ford said when asked if it was a unique experi- ence. "It was different." Notre Dame special teams coordinator Marty Biagi has been leading the Irish's pursuit of Bradford and has done a su- perb job of putting Notre Dame in strong position with the rising junior recruit. "He was talking with me and my family," Bradford said. "He's been re- cruiting me since Day 1. He was even recruiting me when he was at Ole Miss, and when he switched to Notre Dame, he started recruiting me there. We have a good relationship." Bradford enjoyed time spent with head coach Marcus Freeman and defen- sive backs coach Mike Mickens as well. "I think Coach Freeman is true to his heart," Bradford added. "He really wants the best for everyone who comes on campus. Coach Mickens has a similar mindset to Coach Freeman with his own twist. They're both good people." It's still fairly early in Bradford's re- cruiting process, but at the same time, he's looking to narrow down his list in the next few weeks. And the Irish will make it. "Notre Dame will definitely be in my top five when I release it," he stated. "I'm looking forward to building an even better relationship with them moving forward." — Mike Singer Notre Dame has its quarterback com- mits for the 2025 and 2026 classes locked in. While position coach Gino Guidugli has to continue to strengthen relation- ships with Deuce Knight and Noah Grubbs to hold off other schools trying to flip them, having them committed does allow him to get a good head start on 2027. And he and the rest of the Irish staff got a look at a handful of rising sophomore QBs at their Irish Invasion camp June 2. One of the signal-callers Notre Dame saw that afternoon was Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory's Zachary Katz, who stands 6-1, 196 pounds. And the rising sopho- more had a great time on campus. "The overall camp experience was an outstanding, well-run and well-coached event," Katz said. "I learned from Coach Gino and got better as a player and per- son. I thought that was an amazing expe- rience, and I cannot wait to get back up." The quarterback group at the Irish In- vasion camp had the most numbers of campers of all the positions, but Katz was able to get plenty of instruction and feed- back. Three of Notre Dame's quarter- backs helped out with the group as well. "I felt like they did a great job of put- ting the quarterbacks in the appropriate groups and gave us a great chance to learn everything we need," Katz added. "The staff was very welcoming and showed the love you want to see from a staff." Katz wanted to get a look around the university as well while he was on campus. It was quiet at Notre Dame in early June with not many students being around, but he and his mother still loved what they saw. "We got to experience the prestigious campus, and we took in every moment we could," he said. "It was an awesome, beautiful and very detailed campus. It was definitely different from other schools." Notre Dame has not offered any 2027 quarterbacks yet. What Katz said about where he stands with the Irish's signal- caller recruiting plan lines up with what other passers have told Blue & Gold Il- lustrated on the topic. "They want to see games out of our upcoming sophomore season, and then they will get into the details about a po- tential offer," Katz said. Katz also camped at Michigan, South Carolina, Wake Forest and Mississippi State in June. He will take college game- day visits this fall. He has offers from Mi- ami, FIU, Louisville, USF, SMU and Ole Miss, among others. Katz would be over the moon to add Notre Dame to his list at some point. "That would be a big moment in my life," Katz said. "Be- ing able to say that you have the op- portunity of a lifetime is an understate- ment. It's a privilege that would be a very special moment in my heart and would be a place that I would love to call home." Katz threw for 2,973 yards with 38 touchdowns during his freshman season. — Mike Singer Nation's No. 1 Safety In 2026 Considering Irish After July Visit Notre Dame Tracking Rising Sunshine State 2027 Quarterback BLAINE BRADFORD ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Catholic H.S. Baton Rouge, La. Status: Offered Class: 2026 Position: Safety Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 195 On3 Rankings: No. 3 player in Louisiana, and No. 1 safety and No. 10 overall player nationally ZACHARY KATZ Chaminade-Madonna Prep Hollywood, Fla. Status: Not offered Class: 2027 Position: Quarterback Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 196 On3 Rankings: Not ranked yet