Reviewing Notre Dame football’s new offers from Friday’s Irish Invasion
Notre Dame hosted its annual Irish Invasion camp on Friday.
The event included a typical camp during the day and a “Grill & Chill” event later in the evening for some of the more coveted recruits who made their way to campus.
Most of the Irish Invasion participants were recruits in the 2027 and 2028 classes, but most of the new offers went to 2028 recruits who just wrapped up their freshman years in high school. Inside ND Sports has details on each of the new offers reported following the Irish Invasion.
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2028 EDGE Jackson Vaughn
Jackson Vaughn showed at Irish Invasion why he’s approaching 40 scholarship offers before his sophomore season. Vaughn proved to be nearly unblockable in one-on-one pass rush drills against offensive linemen during the camp.
Unsurprisingly, Notre Dame offered Vaughn following the performance. The Irish joined an offer list that also includes LSU, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas and USC.
The 6-3, 215-pound Vaughn recorded 16 tackles, eight sacks and 11 tackles for loss as a freshman at Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic, the same school that sent quarterback Steve Angeli and cornerback Jayden Bellamy to Notre Dame in the 2022 class.
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2028 have
Asher Ghioto didn’t participate in Friday’s camp due to an illness, but that didn’t stop Notre Dame from following through with a scholarship offer for him. The Irish became offer No. 39 for one of the most coveted 2028 recruits in the country. Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami and Ohio State are among the schools to offer Ghioto prior to Notre Dame.
Ghioto totaled 66 tackles, seven sacks and 21 tackles for loss as a freshman at Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles. That’s where Ghioto teams with running back Xander Edwards, the son of former Notre Dame captain Marc Edwards. Ghioto joined them on campus this week on Thursday and Friday. He previously visited Notre Dame in 2023 for a middle school camp.
The 6-5, 235-pound Ghioto shared a photo of himself with Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington when he announced his offer on X. Ghioto also shared a photo of Marc Edwards from his Irish playing days.
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2028 CB Phoenix Evans
Rivals has classified Phoenix Evans as an athlete, but he competed in Friday’s camp as a cornerback. The 5-foot-10, 161-pound Evans previously visited Notre Dame in April for a spring practice. His second visit resulted in a Notre Dame offer.
The Irish joined an offer list of nearly 30 schools for Evans that also includes Florida, North Carolina, Penn State, Rutgers and Washington.
Evans played his freshman season at Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep. The Irish last signed a Don Bosco Prep product in the 2012 class with safety Elijah Shumate. Evans shared a photo of fellow New Jersey product Adon Shuler, a Notre Dame safety, when he announced his offer on X.
2027 EDGE Chaz Gray
Notre Dame became the 12th football program to offer Chaz Gray when it did so after Friday’s camp. The Irish followed Boston College, Michigan State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington and others.
Gray totaled 26 tackles, two sacks and five tackles for loss in his sophomore season at Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional, which is the same school that sent defensive tackle Howard Cross III and running back Audric Estimé to Notre Dame in the 2019 and 2021 classes, respectively.
The 6-4, 225-pound Gray also plays basketball at St. Joseph Regional, and he averaged 5.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game this past season. Rivals has not yet assigned a rating or ranking to Gray.
2028 EDGE Tahj Gray
Tahj Gray is the younger brother of Chaz Gray, but he’s drawn even more recruiting attention than his older brother. Notre Dame’s offer put Tahj Gray even closer to 30 scholarship offers. Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Texas A&M are among the others on his offer list.
The younger Gray (6-3, 215) recorded 27 tackles and three tackles for loss in his freshman season at St. Joseph Regional. He also played basketball this past winter.
2028 LB Allen “Cinco” Kennett
The biggest impact Allen Kennett made on his Anaheim (Calif.) Servite team as freshman was as a quarterback. But Kennett’s working to become a linebacker recruit, and he put his skills to the test in Friday’s camp. Kennett performed well enough for Notre Dame to become his first scholarship offer.
The 6-1, 215-pound Kennett did linebacker drills and was even asked to do some pass rush drills against offensive linemen. Kennett played with the ball in his hands as a freshman, which included 50 carries for 246 yards and three touchdowns and 133 passing yards on 18 completions of 29 attempts with three interceptions. His passing numbers suggest quarterback won’t be his long-term future, and his defensive skill set backed that up.
Notre Dame previously offered a pair of Kennett’s Servite teammates: 2026 four-star tight end Luke Sorensen and 2027 four-star linebacker Isaiah Leilua. Servite sent tight end Troy Niklas and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown in the 2011 and 2015 classes, respectively.
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