Notre Dame Is Where Dallas Golden Needed To Be

Notre Dame received a massive commitment on Sunday when 2025 Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep star athlete Dallas Golden committed to Notre Dame over other prominent schools such as Florida State, Georgia and Alabama among others. The Irish were the assumed leader for Golden for some time, and did the job closing down the stretch.

The talented Florida cornerback let the process play out, took his visits but it was the Irish in the end. From the beginning, they were a school that valued him tremendously. Golden knew where home was.

"It’s the culture, the coaches, the academics,” Golden told Irish Breakdown. "I always felt Notre Dame put a lot of effort into recruiting me from day one. Everything always felt organized on every visit and through all communication.

"My dad always told me to take my time while making my decision and when everything aligned that I would love, and honestly I never had a timeline,” he continued. "For some reason as of late, I just started having this gut feeling that Notre Dame is where I needed to be. There was a lot of prayer involved.”

Golden was always looking for the program that he could see himself at, both as a person and as a player. There was something about the Blue and Gold that just felt right. It’s familiar, and unique all at the same time.

"I see myself fitting in well at Notre Dame as a person,” he explained. "Notre Dame has some of the qualities that my high school has in football and academics. It’s really perfect for me.”

A part of the appeal for Golden was the people. Yes, the fellow commits had their role but it was the coaches. Golden has some key relationships that really put Notre Dame over the top.

"Coach (Marcus) Freeman, Coach (Mike) Mickens and Chad Bowden are great human beings,” Golden explained. "Coach Freeman and Coach Mickens are cool and calm and Chad is just on another level, which levels everything out. It’s a great mix of personalities.”

He became the 20th commit in the 2025 class for the Irish, which is inching closer and closer to being completed. It’s believed to be another strong class under Coach Freeman. Golden shares the optimism for how special of a group it can be.

"I really think this 2025 class can be really special,” he said. "Deuce Knight and I communicate often. He’s a great dude and there’s a lot of great people on board. I’m excited.”

In 14 games as a junior, Golden put together an absolutely dynamic season for Berkeley Prep. On offense, he rushed for 1,467 yards and 19 touchdowns, while also hauling in 32 receptions for 394 yards and five more scores.

Golden was also the team’s main kick and punt returner. On defense, he led the Buccaneers with five interceptions. He also broke up four more passes and blocked a kick.

The 6-0, 185-pound athlete was being pursued by some of the heavy hitters in college football throughout his recruiting process. Besides Notre Dame, some of Golden’s other top offers included Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Nebraska, Clemson, LSU, Miami, Florida State, Florida, Texas A&M, Penn State, Louisville, Kentucky, Maryland, West Virginia, Boston College, Pitt, Duke, Rutgers and Syracuse among others.

Judging by Golden’s production and offer list, it should be no surprise that he is very well liked from the recruiting ranking perspective. He graded out as a Top 50 national recruit on the Irish Breakdown board. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 83 overall player and No. 9 safety in the 2025 recruiting class. They also have Golden rated as the No. 13 player in the state of Florida, a territory that Notre Dame has made an increased impact in recently. 

———————

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.

BECOME A MEMBER

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: @RiseNDraft
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook