While the Notre Dame football team routinely recruits across the country, the Fighting Irish don't regularly recruit in Maryland. That Marcus Freeman and Co. just made an offer to Maryland wide receiver Corey Smith Jr. indicates that this particular prospect has some unusual talent.
The 6-foot-4.5, 215-pound 3-star wide receiver from Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland, is a member of the 2028 recruiting class that has developed into a major Power Four target entering his junior season, with Notre Dame becoming one of the latest programs to offer him on August 28.
Notre Dame is one of the latest schools to offer him, but he has also received a great deal of interest from Boston College, Duke, East Carolina, Kentucky, Liberty, Maryland, UMass, Minnesota, NC State, Nebraska, Penn State, Pitt, Purdue, Syracuse, Toledo, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Washington. The most interesting thing about that list is that schools from all over the country are trying to get him to come to their town. That Smith doesn't appear to be leaning toward one region or the other could be good news for the Fighting Irish.
Of course, the big-bodied wideout is still somewhat of an under-the-radar player when it comes to analysts assessing him. Smith is ranked as the No. 521 player in the 2028 class, the No. 73 player at his position, and the No. 16 player in the state of Maryland, according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. As more teams hop on board and give him an offer, and as the 2026 season continues to roll along, it's a safe bet he'll rocket up the rankings.
Notre Dame football could pursue three or four wide receivers in 2028 class
As a sophomore in 2025, Smith caught 20 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns in nine games, averaging 12.2 yards per reception and 27.1 receiving yards per game for Good Counsel. His biggest recorded outing came against Middletown, when he caught four passes for 66 yards.
After struggling to recruit top-notch receivers early in the Marcus Freeman era, Notre Dame has had quite a bit more success landing talented targets in the last two classes.
The Irish hauled in Devin Fitzgerald, Kaydon Finley, Bubba Frazier, Brayden Robinson, and
Dylan Faison all signed out of the high school class in 2026. Notre Dame then added Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter from Ohio State in the Transfer Portal.
Thanks to the haul in the previous class, the Irish look as though they will only sign Julius Jones Jr. and Jackson Coleman in the 2027 cycle. It stands to reason that Notre Dame will look to get at least three or four wide receivers in the 2028 class, and clearly Freeman and Co. would love for Corey Smith Jr. to be among that group. Should Smith sign, he would be just the fifth prospect from Maryland in the last decade to head to South Bend, joining Khary Adams (2025), Devan Houstan (2023), Ryan Barnes (2021), Cam Hart (2019), and Ja'Mion Franklin (2018).
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