COMMIT: Texas DB Paulson Adebo Chooses Notre Dame|Norte Dame Hot Topics|Team BattleGround|College BattleGround

Notre Dame football encountered a nice surprise this afternoon when Mansfield, Texas athlete Paulson Adebo verbally committed to the Fighting Irish (some of you may recognize him by another name, Saiid). This makes four verbals for the Irish in as many days. Adebo, however, was not among the recruits on campus this past weekend for Irish Invasion. His last visit to Notre Dame was during the March Junior Day. The 247 Composite ranks the 6’1″/180-pounder as the #16 athlete in the country #254 overall player in the class of 2017.

Proud to say I’m committed to The University of Notre Dame!! pic.twitter.com/mxJU9TYArJ

— Paulson Adebo (@yg_3x) June 20, 2016

Recruiting Service Rankings

247 — 4 star (90 rating), #251 overall, #14 position (ATH), #34 in Texas

Rivals — 3 star (5.7 rating), NR overall, #60 position (WR), NR in Texas

Scout — 4 star, #222 overall, #17 position (ATH), NR in Texas

ESPN — 4 star (82 rating), #169 overall, #23 position (WR), #28 in Texas

247 Composite — 4 star (.9054), #254 overall, #16 position (ATH), #39 in Texas

Cohort

Adebo chose the Irish over other offers from Texas, Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma, Duke, Georgia, LSU, and Ole Miss among many others.

Highlights

When watching Adebo’s highlights, it doesn’t take long to realize that the Irish just landed a fantastic athlete. He reads the play really well (you’ll see that at about the 1:35 mark of these highlights) and he also has some pretty great ball skills. If the ball is in the air, he’ll make a play on it. He’s a physical defender and looked great during the couple of goal line passes he defended between minutes 8 and 9. He has all the makings of an elite defensive back.

Impact

This is an extremely good pickup for Notre Dame. Adebo could easily play any one of receiver, corner, or safety at the college level. Notre Dame has reportedly been recruiting him at cornerback, though. He could not be a more perfect fit in the current defensive system. He should match up really well with receivers on the outside as a physical, man coverage player, allowing the defense to play in more aggressive formations. The Notre Dame depth chart isn’t exactly bare at corner, but Adebo should see the field early.

Welcome to the Irish family, Paulson!