(UHND.com) Notre Dame received its 5th verbal commitment in the past 10 days in the form of Chicago safety Sergio Brown. Brown, a 6’1”, 190 pound safety, joins Jashaad Gaines, Leonard Gordon, and Raeshon McNeil in the Irish defensive backfield in this class and the Irish might not be done with defensive backs yet.
First off, this was a big commitment for the Irish because Brown is a big time talent and is a good safety in coverage. Brown had 5 interceptions as a junior and scored 6 defensive touchdowns — yeah 6 touchdowns. He has excellent speed and obviously knows what to do with the ball in his hands once he gets it.
Brown picked Notre Dame over Illinois, Minnesota, UCLA, and Nebraska and says he will still take his visits. Because of this recruiting services like Scout.com are listing him as a soft verbal, but I would be surprised if he ended up elsewhere. Brown has been favoring Notre Dame for a while and is probably just taking the visits to confirm his commitment. Still anytime a recruit makes extra trips after a commitment there’s always the chance he could decommit.
Brown brings in a 4 star rating from Scout.com and a 3 star ranking from Rivals.com. Brown is also listed in Tom Lemming’s National Top 100 recruits.
Some fans have posted saying that they think Brown’s commitment means the Irish won’t get coveted cornerback prospect Darrin Walls. Brown’s commitment shouldn’t affect Walls’ decision however since Brown is a safety and Walls is a corner.
Walls is set to announce next Monday and logic is telling me he’ll pick Notre Dame. He scheduled an announcement after his trip to Florida, but before his scheduled trip to Notre Dame. The Irish have been right at the top of his list for a while and to me it wouldn’t make sense to commit somewhere else 2 weeks before an official visit. He’s seen the Irish play twice on visits to Michigan and Pitt and I think he’ll commit to ND and be another recruiter the weekend of the USC game.
Should Walls commit to the Irish and join the group already in the secondary, he’d give the Irish a recruiting haul unlike they’ve seen in many years in the secondary. Walls and McNeil would give the Irish two true cover corners who can play early and Brown, Gordon, and Gaines all posses a ton of potential at the safety position.
