Notre Dame lands four-star CB Mark Zackery
Notre Dame just added another blue-chip prospect to its No. 1 recruiting class in the 2025 team recruiting rankings. Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis four-star defensive back Mark Zackery announced his commitment to the program on Saturday.
Zackery is the 22nd commitment for the class of 2025 for Notre Dame. He joins a large group of defensive backs in the class that includes Cree Thomas, Ivan Taylor, Ethan Long, and Dallas Golden.
WHAT THE IRISH ARE GETTING
The Irish are getting a versatile playmaker on the back end of its defense. Zackery is a versatile player that can fit a variety of schemes. He’s already shown to be good at playing zone defense and holds up well in man coverage.
Zackery’s athletic ability can also be seen on the basketball court. He’s an elite basketball player that could have played college basketball.
He has an ability to read the quarterback and make plays on the football quickly which makes him a good playmaker. The Indianapolis native is advanced technically for his age so he may be able to see the field early in Notre Dame’s regular defensive packages.
If he doesn’t see the field quickly on defense, he will be able to help the program on special teams. He’s a willing tackler and will only get better at tackling as he continues to bulk up throughout his college career.
WHY IT’S BIG FOR NOTRE DAME
Zackery picked Notre Dame over Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Purdue, Duke and others. He held over 30 scholarship offers but his final group was Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida and Cincinnati. The Irish beat out a tough group of schools to land the in-state product.
One big wrinkle here was that Zackery grew up a fan of Ohio State but ended up falling in love with Notre Dame after visiting. Beating out the Buckeyes head-to-head for a prospect they wanted to land is no small feat. Especially given the history of the Buckeyes putting defensive backs into the NFL.
Zackery is another great addition to the Irish’s number one ranked recruiting class in the Rivals team rankings. The team has done a lot of good work on the trail early in the cycle and hope to hold on to the top spot as more teams make a charge this summer.
