July isn't starting quite as well for the Notre Dame football team as June did. The Fighting Irish found out on Thursday that their efforts to flip Texas commit Greedy James to Marcus Freeman and Co. fell just short. Instead, James decommitted from the Longhorns and committed to Lane Kiffin and LSU.
James now calls Manvel, Texas, home, but he has deep ties to Louisiana. He was born in New Orleans and has family still living in the city. Rivals reported that the Tigers made a "compelling pitch" to James and his family during his official visit this summer.Â
"It has been a really tight race, and it was a hard decision. I couldn't go wrong with any of those schools," James reportedly told Rivals. "What mattered to be most was being where I wanted to be the most. At LSU, I loved the culture on and off the field. They have a great coaching staff and they feel like father figures, especially Coach Raymond. He's one of the best in the game."
James, who is the No. 24 safety in the 2027 class, No. 43 player in Texas and No. 282 player in the nation according to 247Sports, had long been a target of Notre Dame, but the Irish had gotten some hints they were falling behind LSU for the last few weeks.
BREAKING: Four-Star Safety Greedy James has Flipped his Commitment from Texas to LSU, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 2, 2026
The 6’1 175 S had been Committed to the Longhorns since Decemberhttps://t.co/ya4v3CZAiT pic.twitter.com/e841nrZ6HM
Greedy James commits to LSU after Notre Dame football flip push falls short
James' commitment to LSU is a blow to what Notre Dame has been trying to build in the 2027 class, but it's not exactly a "back to the drawing board" situation. The Irish already have two safeties committed in this class. 3-star John Gay and 4-star Zayden Gamble have already given their pledge to Freeman and his staff, further strengthening the Florida Dame push this year.
The Golden Domers also have two cornerback commits so far in 4-star prospects Xavier Hasan and Ace Alston. All of that means that they can certainly make do without the flip of Greedy James. At this point, it's a safe bet that the coaching staff will consider the DB gone, move on to the last few targets for this class, and devote more time and effort to the 2028 class.Â
The ability to consider the loss of a 4-star recruit annoying, but hardly a big loss, is the happy byproduct of Notre Dame already logging one of the best classes in the 2027 cycle. Now they have to move on to Plan B and lock it down.
Add us as a preferred source on Google