Never let it be said that Notre Dame football commits don’t see the Fighting Irish as a family. And quite a few of those commits would like their family to grow. Several of the latest commits even have someone in mind to join, in the form of elite defensive back Joey O’Brien.
The 4-star safety out of La Salle College (Glenside, PA) rates as one of the top targets on Marcus Freeman’s board. The problem is that he is also the top target on several other schools’ lists. Penn State might be the most prominent school of that group as they’re ramping up the pressure just as the Blue and Gold seem like they’re getting the upper hand.
Joey O’Brien’s Penn State post didn’t go over well with Notre Dame’s 2026 class
However, Notre Dame football has some secret weapons up its sleeves in recruiting O’Brien. They showed their hands over the last few days as some of the top commits of the Fighting Irish want to make sure O’Brien knows he’s wanted.
O’Brien took to X with a post hinting that he might be leaning towards the Nittany Lions. Alongside that post was the question “what we thinking,” with a Penn State hashtag. While there were plenty of fans of the school excited, Tyler Merrill, Rodney Dunham, and Jonaz Walton gave three massive thumbs down.
Walton responded “Nahh” alongside three clovers, not exactly leaving it a mystery where he would rather O’Brien go. Dunham was far more direct, responding, “WE ARE not going to Penn State. Go Irish. He included four clovers to hammer the point home.
Merrill didn’t even need to use words to express his preference that O’Brien go to Notre Dame. He simply used two thumbs down emojis to send a message.
All of this came on the heels of Joey O’Brien’s official visit to the Big Ten school. It’s a safe bet he noticed how quickly several Irish commits were interested in his message.
The Notre Dame football team will be able to hammer its message home when Joey O’Brien uses his official visit to South Bend on June 20. In the meantime, Jonaz Walton, Tyler Merrill, Rodney Dunham, and plenty others will work on him.