Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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34 JANUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY KYLE KELLY After more than 50 recruiting visits, Ace Alston was ready to call his college football recruitment quits. On Dec. 9, the four-star cornerback from Cincinnati Anderson announced his verbal commitment to Notre Dame. Alston is now the eighth member of the Irish's 2027 recruiting class. "I just had a talk with God, and I had a long conversation with him at night a couple weeks back," Alston told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "And he put it on my heart that Notre Dame is the right deci- sion for me." The Irish can be glad that his faith worked out in their favor. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder was one of their top targets and was coveted by many other schools as well. According to Rivals, Alston is the No. 5 prospect in Ohio, and the No. 12 cornerback and No. 163 overall player nationally in the 2027 class. In addition to Notre Dame, upward of 30 Power Four programs of- fered him a scholarship. On Nov. 10, Alston released a top 10 of Notre Dame, Oregon, Indiana, Michi- gan, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio State, Penn State, LSU and Southern Cal. Still, in the weeks prior, it had become clear the Irish were in the driver's seat for his pledge. Since Alston added his scholarship offer from the Irish during the pro- gram's St. Patrick's Day-themed Pot of Gold Day recruiting event March 17, no school has welcomed him to campus more than Notre Dame. After four trips to South Bend in seven months, Alston felt most at home at Notre Dame. "They really just showed me what family becomes and what an actual fam- ily is," he said. "What a brotherhood is, and then what stuff they can do for you after football. After football is so impor- tant for me. And I feel like Notre Dame is a great school to go to and graduate from to get any job you want basically." And for Alston, his first job out of college might be in the NFL, especially considering Notre Dame's defensive back development under Mike Mickens. With NFL Draft picks like Sauce Gard- ner, Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart on his résumé, the Irish's sixth-year defensive backs coach was an easy sell. "Just watching all of them and things like that all came into my decision," Alston said. "Just watching the DBs they have now, the DBs they have on the board — it's just all-around com- petitive, and I want to put myself in that atmosphere to be able to compete." There should be plenty of compe- tition in the Irish defensive backfield when Alston arrives on campus in 2027. Notre Dame signed the top second- ary in the 2026 cycle, which includes the Rivals Industry Ranking 's No. 1 cornerback Khary Adams from Towson (Md.) Loyola Blakefield and Rivals' No. 1 safety in Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle Col- lege's Joey O'Brien. Then there is top-100 cornerback Ayden Pouncey of Winter Park (Fla.) High, another borderline one in Knox- ville (Tenn.) Catholic four-star Chaz Smith and "Swiss-Army knife" three- star safety Nick Reddish from Charlotte (N.C.) Independence. In the 2027 class, the Irish have al- ready secured a commitment from Tu- stin (Calif.) High four-star Khalil Terry, Rivals' No. 11 recruit in California, and No. 13 safety and No. 130 overall player nationally. Alston said he paid attention to Notre Dame's recruiting efforts and is eager to be part of a program that emphasizes adding premier talent. "I took all that into account when I made my decision," he said. "I've seen all the other players they had, and that gives me even more motivation to go in there and outwork everybody." And it helps that they all encouraged Alston to be part of their journey. "All the commits were just hitting me up," he said. "And I just felt the most family-oriented there." ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE ACE ALSTON Four-Star Cornerback From Ohio Picks The Fighting Irish Alston pledged to Notre Dame Dec. 9 after attending the Irish's games against Texas A&M and Southern Cal during the 2025 season. He choose Notre Dame over schools such as Indiana, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee and Southern Cal. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER FILM ANALYSIS "I really like Ace Alston a lot. I've seen him since his freshman year. He's a big-time player — a four- star-plus guy. Notre Dame did a great job in his recruitment and offered before Ohio State did. This is a big catch for the Fighting Irish. "Alston is a quick-twitch athlete, and he's going to play for Mike Mickens, who is the best defensive backs coach in the country when you combine coaching and recruiting. He seems to be getting whoever he wants on the recruiting trail. Alston is a big-time player and is really explosive as a defensive back." — Prep Football Report analyst Tom Lemming