Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2026 31 BY MIKE SINGER Notre Dame has gone into South Flor- ida and landed a big commitment. Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas class of 2027 safety Zayden Gamble an- nounced his pledge to the Fighting Irish April 25. The four-star prospect's recruitment was seen as a Miami versus Florida bat- tle for quite some time. He visited the local Hurricanes at least 10 times. Ohio State made a move for him earlier in the spring. But those three programs ulti- mately finished as finalists. "The opportunities at Notre Dame — they don't compare to anybody else," Gamble told Rivals' Chad Simmons about picking the Irish. "And that's the defense I want to play for. It is the staff I want to play for. I want to play for Coach [Marcus] Freeman and be part of that brotherhood." Gamble — the No. 22 safety and No. 237 overall player in America ac- cording to Rivals — needed only one visit to know he wanted to call South Bend home for his collegiate career. The Irish offered a scholarship in April 2025 and recruited him hard but always seemed on the outside looking in among his top schools. But the Notre Dame staff kept working on him, and he vis- ited for the first time on March 21, 2026. "I know I'll become a better man when I leave Notre Dame, not just on the field, but off the field," Gamble said. "I'll develop into another human I would never imagine myself being." Georgia, Florida State, Indiana, LSU, Michigan and Texas A&M were among the other schools on his long offer sheet. "What puts Notre Dame so high on my list is the combination of academics and sports," Gamble noted. "The brotherhood and the bond I've built with the coaches, players and commits also stands out. Notre Dame is very different from every other school because not everybody can go to Notre Dame. But every Notre Dame player could go everywhere." Notre Dame safeties coach Jevaughn Codlin offered him a scholarship last April while he was an analyst, but dur- ing the winter he was hired as North Texas' new safeties coach. After just two months, Notre Dame hired him back as its new safeties coach. Codlin's presence was huge in this recruitment, and it's another strong re- cruiting win for new defensive backs coach Aaron Henry, another key figure in the Irish's pursuit of Gamble. Gamble is the first recruit Notre Dame has signed from St. Thomas Aqui- nas since linebacker Drew White back in the 2017 class, and the Irish would love nothing more than to build a pipeline at the pri- vate Catholic school. It has won seven straight state championships and has had a premier football program nationally for decades. The Irish have more tar- gets at St. Thomas Aquinas, including one of Gamble's best friends. That would be none other than Julius Jones Jr., a Notre Dame legacy who is Rivals' No. 16 wide receiver and No. 84 overall player in the coun- try. Gamble's commitment can only help the Irish in their chase to land Jones. "Julius Jones is one of my best friends, and we have definitely considered playing college ball together," Gam- ble told Blue & Gold Illus- trated after his March visit. "If that's what God brings us, then yes, but it's his decision separately from my deci- sion. But if we are fortunate enough to play with each other, that would be amazing." Gamble had a strong 13-game junior season, posting 65 stops (3 for loss), 3 in- terceptions, 5 passes broken up, 1 forced fumble and 1 blocked field goal en route to being named to the 2025 MaxPreps Ju- nior All-America second-team defense. He has been a key member of the Raiders' last two Florida 5A state cham- pionship teams. St. Thomas Aquinas finished as the No. 8 team in America and No. 2 in Florida in 2025, according to the Massey Ratings. Gamble's father, David, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1994 and was part of the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl team in 1998. He played collegiately for New Hampshire. Gamble was selected to play in the 2026 Under Armour All-America Game as a high school junior. He recorded 3 stops, 1 tackle for loss and 1 pass broken up in the game. ✦ COMMITMENT PROFILE ZAYDEN GAMBLE St. Thomas Aquinas Safety Gives Irish Major Recruiting Win Gamble, the No. 22 safety and No. 237 overall prospect nationally per Rivals, opens the pipeline for the Irish at one of the best high schools in America, St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS FILM ANALYSIS "Zayden Gamble is a well-rounded safety prospect and one who we really like in the 2027 class — in what is a really deep safety group nationally. For starters, he's well built at 5-11, 190 pounds. He added a lot of good size in the past year. That was an area we were looking for him to improve — getting bigger and stronger. He's certainly done that. "He's played at a high level for St. Thomas Aquinas, which is the top talent-producing program nationally in recent memory. Gamble is a heady, instinctive safety who covers really well. He closes quickly and will come to col- lege very polished in coverage. He'll have a high floor relative to his safety skills." — Rivals director of scouting and rankings Charles Power