May has been an especially good month for the Notre Dame football team in building up its 2027 recruiting class. However, even Marcus Freeman isn’t totally infallible when it comes to landing prospects. Earlier this week, the Fighting Irish got some bad news on the Tavares Harrington front.
Tavares Harrington has Notre Dame football still alive in his final five
While ND is still one of the finalists for the 4-star defensive back, it appears Harrington is leaning elsewhere. The Chicago Mount Carmel prospect named the Irish in his Top 5. He also named Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, and Ole Miss as his finalists. His previous top 10 also included Arkansas, Georgia, Florida State, Kentucky, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, but those programs are no longer under consideration as his recruitment enters the stretch run.
According to the Rivals Industry Ranking, Harrington is one of the nation’s top defensive backs, checking in as the No. 8 safety, No. 124 overall player nationally, and No. 8 prospect in Illinois. Notre Dame initially recruited him as a cornerback — Harrington’s preferred position — though he has said previously that he could also see himself playing elsewhere in the secondary. However, he might not end up showing what he can do in South Bend.
Losing Harrington would be bad enough. Losing the talented DB to Michigan would be worse. And yet, Michigan is considered the frontrunner. On Monday, the Wolverines received four predictions from On3’s Steve Wiltfong, Allen Trieu, Greg Smith, and Ethan McDowell.
Tavares Harrington now has Notre Dame football trying to stop Michigan’s momentum
Harrington will make his decision known on May 22, just under 9 days from now, and just over a week after his teammate, Quentin Burrell, will announce his school of choice. Burrell is also someone the Irish would like to reel in, but he, too, seems to be leaning towards the program in Ann Arbor. Harrington’s announcement comes after the 4-star wide receiver's announcement, which could mean the two players want to be college teammates.
It’s also not a great sign that, like Burrell, Harrington was originally planning to take some official visits and sort through his top programs before making a decision ahead of his senior season, but a May decision is now on deck. The speeding up of the timeline, combined with the four predictions for the defensive back to land in Michigan, are both signs that Notre Dame lost some serious ground.
Back in March, Harrington had Alabama and Notre Dame at the top of his recruitment. The Fighting Irish entered this spring trending on the Rivals Recruiting Prediction Machine. Michigan turned on the afterburners over the last few months and jumped into the lead to open May.
It’s not hard to see why the battle for his commitment has been so intense. Harrington finished his junior season with 50 tackles, 9 PBU, and 3 INT for a Mount Carmel squad that won its fourth-straight state championship. In 2024, he recorded 39 tackles, 15 PBU, and 1 interception.
Even if Notre Dame does lose the battle for Tavares Harrington, it is still having the kind of May that could power a run to the Top 5 recruiting classes by June, with several other prospects expected to commit to the Fighting Irish.
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