Story by
Roundtable Sports
Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Safety Joey O'Brien
- Story byRoundtable Sports
- Notre Dame 2026 Player Profile: Safety Joey O'Brien
(Joey O'Brien, X)
Notre Dame signed arguably the top recruiting class in the nation in the 2026 cycle, and one of the top prizes of that class is safety Joey O'Brien. It was a battle to land the Pennsylvania standout, but O'Brien was worth the work, giving Notre Dame a player with the talent to become the next star safety for the Irish.
Here is our season preview and profile for O'Brien:
Advertisement
JOEY O'BRIEN PROFILE
Class/Eligibility: Freshman / Freshman
Height/Weight: 6-5, 203
Hometown/High School: Roxborough, Mass./La Salle Prep
IB EVALUATION
Here is how Irish Breakdown evaluated O'Brien when he signed with Notre Dame.
"O'Brien is the latest elite secondary player to sign with Notre Dame since Mike Mickens and Marcus Freeman arrived in South Bend. The Pennsylvania native is an elite two-way player that could be an impact starter in college on either side of the ball. Defensively, O'Brien spent much of his prep career at cornerback, and that's where Notre Dame initially recruited him. O'Brien graded out as a Top 100 player as a cornerback, but when he moved to safety his game exploded. He is still on the skinny side, but he's exceptionally long and has elite range on the back end of the defense.
Advertisement
"O'Brien is an outstanding all-around athlete that shows the short area quickness and long speed to thrive. He's a smooth athlete that can change direction with ease, and he uses his length, range and closing speed to cover a ton of ground in very few steps. O'Brien shows a great feel for the game, showing the ability to read the quarterback and routes at an elite level, which combines with his length and range to allow him to get his hands on a lot of footballs. His body control is special, he has elite hands and he has all the traits needed to be a highly productive turnover machine in college."
FALL CAMP PREVIEW
Step one for O'Brien is getting — and staying — healthy. After a strong spring practice period, O'Brien injured his leg in the Blue-Gold Game, and that injury required surgery. The expectation is that O'Brien will return in the fall, whether that's to start fall camp or something during camp. That makes it a bit hard to project what camp will be for him. If he returns for camp, O'Brien will need to get back into rhythm after missing time with that injury. If there is any good news with the injury it did happen at the end of spring, so he was able to get plenty of work in the defense.
Once he returns, O'Brien will need to continue enhancing his ability to come down and be physical against the run. He improved all spring after showing some initial uncertainty, which can happen when a young defender isn't sure of what he's being asked to do. From a coverage standpoint he was outstanding from the moment he arrived, so the ability to defend the run will determine just how quickly he moves up the depth chart this season.
Advertisement
2026 EXPECTATIONS
When a player has this kind of talent the expectation is that he earns some playing time as a freshman, no matter what the team returns at the position. O'Brien should absolutely work his way into the two-deep at some point this season. That's no knock on the talented returners, it just speaks to the talent O'Brien possesses.
So the question now is how much will he play and how productive will he be. Notre Dame's third and fourth safeties combined for 62 tackles, four tackles for loss, four interceptions and five pass break ups last season. One of those players ( Jalen Stroman) is gone, I expect Luke Talichto step into that role. O'Brien will have the opportunity to step into the coverage role that Talich played last season. That's where his game is strongest right now, both from a zone and man standpoint. Remember, O'Brien was a cornerback until his senior season, and Notre Dame initially offered him as a corner before he outgrew the position a bit.
I don't know if O'Brien will get enough snaps to put up enough production to earn Freshman All-America honors, but I fully expect his play to not only provide the defense with much-needed impact snaps when he is on the field, I expect his play to have fans salivating about what he'll be in 2027.
Advertisement
A GOOD SEASON FOR O'BRIEN WOULD BE ....
One in which he gets healthy, stays healthy, forces his way into the two deep and shows that his five-star ranking was legit. O'Brien should provide the defense with a boost in coverage skill, which is important. Last season, the only player that really thrived and looked natural playing centerfield and playing in man looks was Brauntae Johnson, but O'Brien excels in that area. We saw that during the spring, and I expect him to show that during the season as well.
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
Advertisement
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
