Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JANUARY 2025 49 BY MIKE SINGER Notre Dame fans got great news on Dec. 1 when Chattanooga (Tenn.) Mc- Callie School class of 2026 cornerback Chaston Smith announced his commit- ment to the Fighting Irish. Clemson, Indiana, South Carolina and Texas A&M were the other schools that he closely considered down the stretch, especially the Tigers and Aggies. It seemed heading into his decision that he'd pick one of the Southern schools, but the Irish pulled off the big recruiting win for the next recruiting class. "When I first went up there for a game-day visit, I liked what I saw," said Smith, who visited South Bend for the first time to see Notre Dame dismantle Florida State Nov. 9. "After that, they were constantly communicating with me, constantly showing me love and telling me all about the opportunities I'll have at Notre Dame — while I'm there and after Notre Dame. The life af- ter Notre Dame made me choose them." He planned his commitment date after his visit, and most times when a prospect sets a decision day following a trip to a school, he'll choose that pro- gram. While that ended up being the case with Smith, he didn't know which team he'd be picking in a few weeks when he made his choice. "At that point, I didn't know it'd be Notre Dame," he noted. "I was stuck on everything. I didn't come to a de- cision until a day or two before my commitment." Dec. 1 wasn't a family member's birthday or anything — just the day he selected, and there's a long way to go until National Signing Day for the 2026 class. "I wanted to commit early and get things slowed down," he explained. "Ev- erything was moving so fast. I looked at all the schools that were showing me love, and I wanted to narrow it down. I had a lot of schools coming at me all at once. "It was getting crazy towards the end. I loved the recruiting process, but I knew I wanted to slow it down." No t re Da m e d e - fensive backs coach Mike Mickens and re- cruiting office staffer Deland McCullough II led the Irish in the charge to land Smith. "I really like how Coach Mickens keeps it real with me and shows me all of my opportunities," Smith said. "He's coached some great defensive backs in the past, and I wanted to be a part of the tradition of DBs he's coached. And with Coach D-Mac, we had an instant con- nection. I could tell that we were going to be close." McCullough — the son of the Irish's running backs coach — is the Notre Dame staffer who got the call from Smith about the commitment. "He didn't really believe me at first, and then we got on the phone with Coach Mickens," Smith recalled. "They were all excited." With signing day being about a year away, other programs will surely look to flip the four-star pros- pect. At the time of Blue & Gold Illustrat- ed's interview with him shortly after his commitment became o f f i c i a l , h e h a d n 't taken time to consider whether he'll still consider schools moving forward. "I haven't really thought about that yet," he said. "I'm taking it all one day at a time. I'm letting it all sink in." This past season was Smith's first at McCallie School; he was at Knoxville (Tenn.) Bearden previously. Smith only played four games in the fall before suf- fering a season-ending ankle injury. In those outings, he compiled 5 solo tack- les, 2 passes broken up and 1 intercep- tion. He noted that he's close to being back to 100 percent. "My first four games were the best four games of my high school career," he said. According to On3, Smith is the No. 18 cornerback and No. 241 overall player in the country. ✦ Smith, who is On3's No. 18 cornerback and No. 241 overall player in the country, committed to Notre Dame over Clemson and Texas A&M Dec. 1. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY COMMITMENT PROFILE CHASTON SMITH FILM ANALYSIS "In the limited 2024 season tape available, Chaston Smith's highlights look freakish — he has great hips, awareness and speed, tracks the ball well and is a really good tackler. Smith looks really good in man coverage — especially when pressing — and we all know how much the Irish like to run man defense. "Notre Dame is excited about how he looked when they saw him in person for the FSU game. That 6-1, 170-pound size with 33.5-inch arms is outstanding as a junior. Smith's older brother, Penny, trains him. He played his collegiate football at Jacksonville State after transferring from UT-Chattanooga." — Blue & Gold Illustrated recruiting reporter Mike Singer Notre Dame Lands Pledge From 2026 Four-Star Cornerback "He's coached some great defensive backs in the past, and I wanted to be a part of the tradition of DBs he's coached." SMITH ON IRISH DEFENSIVE BACKS COACH MIKE MICKENS