Notre Dame Is A Special Place For CB Joey O'Brien

Standout 2026 Pennsylvania cornerback Joey O'Brien recaps Pot of Gold offer

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that 2026 Glenside (Pa.) La Salle College cornerback Joey O’Brien was offered during the Pot of Gold offer even on Sunday. He is a player that the Irish staff has been creating a lot of momentum with recently, including an outstanding visit a couple of weeks ago.

The Irish have already made O’Brien feel like a priority. That pitch, on top of the visit and connections to the program, have put Notre Dame in a great place early.

"Notre Dame blew me away honestly,” O’Brien told Irish Breakdown. "The campus is amazing and I really like how the coaches connect with the players. It was an amazing feeling to be offered by Notre Dame. It’s definitely a special day for me.

"The staff can’t reach out to me directly but I look forward to developing a relationship with all of them,” he continued. "Coach (Marcus) Freeman is a great guy and I had an awesome conversation with him. The same thing with Coach (Mike) Mickens and Coach (Al) Golden. They want me to get back out there whenever possible. I’m looking forward to it.”

When you look at the offer list for O’Brien, it isn’t overly impressive yet. Then you watch the film, and you understand it’s only a matter of time. It’s going to be a busy offseason for O’Brien visiting several schools and really getting his recruitment kicked off.

"Recruiting is picking up and my head coach is hearing from a lot of schools,” explained O’Brien. "My next visit is Syracuse. I’m trying to get to Maryland this spring for practice too. There’s also a chance I’m going to get down to Alabama for a spring practice. I’m hearing from others but my 7-on-7 schedule makes it difficult to travel at times.”

In the end, Notre Dame is going to have to be ready to battle. There will more than likely be several big programs who will pursue O’Brien. This event is about continuing that momentum, which it did.

"It’s exciting to be a part of it,” O’Brien said about Pot of Gold. "There are tons of talented players from across the country participating in it and I get to be associated with them. It’s definitely a cool event.”

The Pennsylvania star has three early offers from Notre Dame, Duke and Toledo, which is just the beginning. Schools like Florida State and Syracuse are also going to host him for visits in the future, which should continue to jump start his recruiting momentum.

As a sophomore, O’Brien put together a tremendous season for La Salle College. On defense, the 6-3, 180-pound cornerback recorded 38 total tackles, three interceptions and 18 pass breakups. O’Brien was also utilized on offense, hauling in 24 receptions for 339 yards and three touchdowns.

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

2024 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @RiseNDraft
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter