Marcus Freeman secures commitment from nation's No. 3 cornerback for Notre Dame's 2026 class

Notre Dame’s 2026 recruiting has another commitment to show for Marcus Freeman and his staff’s effort on the recruiting trail. Top-10 cornerback prospect Khary Adams pledged his commitment to the Fighting Irish on Friday.

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The Loyola Blakefield (Towson, Maryland) prospect chose Notre Dame over offers from Big Ten sides Penn State, Michigan and Oregon. One of the most in-demand prospects in this cycle, Adams has offers from almost 30 Power Four programs, including South Carolina, LSU, Clemson, Tennessee and Southern Cal.

Adams had a chat with On3’s Chad Simmons prior to his announcement on Friday, detailing his experience from visits to South Bend.

“I have been up to Notre Dame four times, and I can’t even describe what it is like," Adams said. "There are no words for it. It’s just different. It is something you have never seen before. Notre Dame is special.”

Adams, at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, is the No. 3 cornerback and the No. 30 overall prospect in the 2026 class, per On3.

Marcus Freeman is putting together an elite defensive back class with four-star safety Ayden Pouncey and four-star cornerback Chaston Smith already committed to the Irish.

Pouncey and Smith had a positive influence on Adams’ decision to declare for Notre Dame during their interaction when he visited South Bend last weekend.

“It was cool getting around them," he said. "If I go there, they would be in my class. It was really cool.”

Adams visited Notre Dame the same weekend as the duo, along with four-star safety Joey O’Brien, who’s No. 5 in his position, per On3.

Marcus Freeman confident Notre Dame will remain independent

With the 2025 season a couple of months away, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman has restated the program’s commitment to remaining independent. One of the most storied programs in college football, the Irish have held on to their independent status amidst pressure to align with a conference.

This will remain so for a while, as Freeman said on The Joel Klatt Show on Monday.

“It’s what this football program was built from," Freeman said. "As long as we can, we will (retain independence). I have a lot of confidence in our administration and Pete Bevacqua, or AD, that he’ll always keep us in a position to be successful. So, as long as we can keep that independence, we will.”

The Irish will face Miami on Sept. 1 to open their season.

About the author

Kayode is a College and High School Sports writer at Sportskeeda since June 2023. Hailing from Nigeria, he has an undergraduate degree in Linguistics and African Languages, and has previously had stints as an entertainment and politics writer for around 7 months. Adept at creating content around historical perspectives, he strives to report stories based only on verified information. His mantra is - truth is always more important than sensationalism.

A fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, Kayode admires how Nick Saban developed talent at the team and delivered consistent results, and hopes that the post-Saban era is just as fruitful. He is thoroughly impressed by Johnny Manziel’s talent, and feels that Shedeur Sanders is massively underrated. Nick Saban is his all-time favorite college coach.

While Kayode believes there is little to separate college and mainstream sports, pro leagues absorbing the best athletes leads to their quality being higher. Witnessing the Colorado Buffaloes’ hot streak at start the 2023 football season was one of his all-time favorite college sports moments.

When not writing, Kayode enjoys reading and watching sports documentaries. His most recent watch was "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In."

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Edited by Ribin Peter