Notre Dame Football lands solid 2021 safety

Notre Dame football hit another home run on the recruiting trail over the weekend.

Notre Dame football landed 2021 safety Justin Walters III out of Illinois, making it official on Sunday. Walters was on campus for junior day, which was his second visit in the last year and he didn’t want to leave South Bend without announcing his commitment to the Irish. The relationship he has with the coaches where huge and the staff made it known that he was a huge priority for this class. This was an early recruit Notre Dame needed to land as a true safety and they got it done. Walters holds 23 offers at the moment, including those from the likes of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Kentucky.

What will Justin Walters III bring to South Bend?

The 6’2″, 180-pound safety brings physicality and size to start off. He’s a sure fire tackler on the back end and he covers the field well with his size. He makes a ton of plays in the box and closer to the line, reads and reacts to the ball carrier and finishes strong to really punish the ball carrier. His ability to also recognize plays behind the line and in the passing game is impressive. His football IQ is solid and he’s able to dissect routes and coverages because of it. After that, he brings his pure athleticism and flies around and makes plays when it counts.

He has some room to grow with his footwork, which will speed up his game and will help him react a little quicker, but overall he could really be a huge boost for the defense in the next few years, especially with guys leaving in the secondary. It’s always a positive in my eyes to get a guy that’s a “true” player at their position instead of a hybrid type that could possibly turn out to be a solid piece to a certain position group. Walters is exactly that, a true heavy hitter safety. The staff added a really nice piece to this already impressive class.

With Justin Walters pledge on Sunday, the Irish now have 8 commits in the 2021 class. He joins defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio as the second defensive player in the group. As it stands today, according to 247 Sports, the Irish have the No. 3 class in the country for 2021, behind Ohio State and Clemson.