Two former Notre Dame 2024 verbal commits choose their next destinations

Two former Notre Dame defensive line verbal commits from the 2024 class chose where they would play college football. Four-star defensive lineman Brandon Davis-Swain committed to Colorado on Saturday, and three-star defensive lineman Owen Wafle committed to Michigan on Sunday.

During his official visit, the 6-foot-2 1/2, 240-pound Davis-Swain pledged to head coach Deion Sanders and the Buffaloes. Davis-Swain, a rising senior at West Bloomfield (Mich.) High, was verbally committed to Notre Dame from April 23, 2022, to Dec. 11, 2022.

The On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — considers Davis-Swain the No. 225 overall player, No. 24 defensive lineman and No. 5 prospect in Michigan. He has a 90.95 rating.

In On3’s own rankings, Davis-Swain is a three-star recruit and the No. 54 defensive lineman and No. 13 prospect in Michigan. On3 gave him an 88 rating.

Davis Swain’s On3 NIL Valuation annual value is $59,000.

The 6-2, 267-pound Wafle committed to the Wolverines eighteen days after he backed off his Notre Dame pledge. The Princeton (N.J.) Hun School product initially joined ND’s class on May 16, 2022.

Wafle is the No. 409 overall player, No. 38 defensive lineman and No. 7 prospect in New Jersey, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He has an 88.95 rating. In On3’s own rankings, he’s the No. 71 defensive lineman and No. 15 prospect in New Jersey. On3 gave him an 88 rating.

Wafle’s On3 NIL Valuation annual value is $24,000.

A brief background on Davis-Swain’s Notre Dame recruitment

Notre Dame initially offered Davis-Swain during its annual “Pot of Gold” Day recruiting event on March 17, 2022. The Fighting Irish sent out about 65 new offers that day.

Davis-Swain surprisingly verbally committed to Notre Dame on April 23, 2022, after attending the Blue-Gold Game. That visit came together last minute as Davis-Swain planned to participate in a football camp in Indianapolis the next day.

From the start, Davis-Swain’s Notre Dame commitment appeared premature. He never seemed sold on the Fighting Irish as he visited several opposing programs, including Michigan, Ohio State and Southern California, while a part of ND’s class.

Notre Dame and Davis-Swain parted ways on Dec. 11. And the Irish chose to recruit him no longer. His first unofficial college recruiting visit after he left ND’s class was to Colorado on Jan. 28 — the school he chose Sunday.

A brief background on Wafle’s Notre Dame recruitment

Like Davis-Swain, Wafle also picked up his Notre Dame offer on Pot of Gold Day.

He made it to South Bend for the first time as a target on March 26, 2022, and chose to shut down his recruitment in favor of the Irish less than two months later.

From July 26 to Notre Dame’s most recent Blue-Gold Game on April 22, Wafle visited four additional times. However, Michigan began recruiting him behind the scenes, and Wafle expressed interest in officially visiting the Wolverines while committed to the Irish.

Wafle did not report any opposing unofficial visits during his Notre Dame commitment. However, there were talks of an Oklahoma game day visit during the 2022 season.

Under head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has a no-opposing official visit policy, which results in an automatic decommitment if violated. So, the coaching staff parted ways with Wafle rather than convince him to stay in the class.

Soon after, the Irish secured 2024 three-star defensive tackle Sean Sevillano from Clearwater (Fla.) Academy International. The 6-1 1/2, 325-pound Sevillano made his Notre Dame commitment public on June 2.

Sevillano is the No. 881 overall player, No. 83 defensive lineman and No. 118 prospect in Florida, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

A look at the rest of Notre Dame’s current 2024 defensive line class

Notre Dame’s defensive line class contains four-star recruits Loghan Thomas and Bryce Young and three-star recruit Cole Mullins.

Thomas (6-3, 210 pounds) and Mullins (6-4, 240 pounds) both project as vypers — Notre Dame’s version of a hybrid weakside defensive end and linebacker — at the next level. The 6-6, 245-pound Young trends towards playing strongside defensive end or defensive tackle.

The On3 Industry Ranking has Thomas, a rising senior at Katy (Texas) Paetow as the No. 169 overall player, No. 11 EDGE and No. 30 prospect in Texas. Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek’s Mullins is the No. 615 overall player, No. 66 linebacker and No. 78 prospect in Georgia, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Young is the No. 327 overall player, No. 22 EDGE and No. 10 prospect in North Carolina, per the On3 Industry Ranking. The Charlotte (N.C.) Christian product is the son of former Notre Dame standout and Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive lineman Bryant Young.