Skip to main content
notre-dame logo

Elite 2028 CB raves about Notre Dame, scheduled for return visit

Singer headshotby:Mike Singer•05/14/25•

MikeTSinger

phoenix evans On3 fp
2028 CB Phoenix Evans with Notre Dame's Jevaughn Codilin (left) and Mike Mickens (right)

Notre Dame is far from finished in the 2026 class, and it’s still very early in the 2027 cycle as well with the Irish offering several dozen prospects in that recruiting cycle in March. But that isn’t stopping the Fighting Irish from getting things started in the 2028 cycle.

Ramsey (N.J.) Don Bosco Prep cornerback Phoenix Evans is a class of 2028 prospect whom Notre Dame thinks the world of. The Irish hosted the 5-10, 160-pounder for a visit April 16, and defensive backs coaches Mike Mickens and Jevaughn Codlin visited his high school May 1.

“I love Notre Dame,” Evans told Blue & Gold. “It feels like Don Bosco Prep but on an elite college level. I liked how the campus is a mix of historical and modern. 

“The highlights of my visit were of course the tour of campus, the meetings and time I spent with the coaches.”

Notre Dame hasn’t offered Evans yet, but it seems like just a matter of time before that takes place. It could come soon, it could take place next March for Pot of Gold Day, but it’ll happen.

“I really like Coach Mickens,” continued Evans. “He knows how to develop NFL talent and he coached one of my favorite cornerbacks, Sauce Gardner, and I like how he believes in young defensive backs — putting them out there as freshman with all of them creating turnovers. 

“I liked Coach [Chris] Ash as well; I had a great meeting with him. And overall, Marcus Freeman is the one who left the biggest impact on me after speaking with him. Their message to me was how I will be a priority, what it means to be a part of Notre Dame and how being there offers more to it than just football.

Evans has a notable connection to Notre Dame as well, which is just another thing going for the Irish in this recruitment.

“Getting a Notre Dame offer would be huge for me,” he said. “It’s one of my dream schools. My cousin Adon Shuler had a great season as a redshirt freshman. Benjamin Morrison just got drafted and was playing high-level football since he was a true freshman, and now Leonard Moore is following in his footsteps. 

“I feel like I could be the next name to take the same route there.  I believe in Coach Mickens. I know he could get me ready for the NFL.”

Evans will be back at Notre Dame in a few weeks for the Irish staff’s annual major camp.

“I’ll be back in South Bend for the Irish Invasion, and I can’t wait,” he said.

Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M and SMU are a few other schools he’s planning to visit this summer. He has a long offer list for a rising sophomore, with the likes of Penn State, Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Michigan State, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin already after him.

“It’s kind of crazy; I didn’t expect my recruitment to take off like this so early in my high school career,” said Evans.

You may also like