Notre Dame CB commit recaps ‘incredible’ official visit, talks Irish targets
There’s no worrying about Cree Thomas flipping from Notre Dame. The 6-1, 170-pounder out of Phoenix Brophy Prep is fully locked in with the Fighting Irish, and he was back in South Bend over the weekend for his official visit.
Thomas, who ranks as the No. 402 overall prospect and No. 37 cornerback in the country according to the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking, spoke with Blue & Gold about his time at Notre Dame, which was fifth visit in total to campus.
“It was incredible,” he said. “It’s always great being back home, and it definitely reassured me that I made the right choice. The family feel there is incredible, and we even got to go to Coach [Marcus] Freeman’s house for a while. All the commits and recruits there bonded together really well.”
One difference between an official and unofficial visit is that during an OV, prospects and the coaching staff can have off-campus contact, which in this case, was Freeman’s house.
“We hung out, played basketball, he had golf simulator going and his pool,” added Thomas. “We made our connections stronger. That’s a really important part of football — to be a good family. We’re starting that process early.”
Thomas noted that he spent most of his time with the Irish’s other two cornerback commits in the 2025 cycle — Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep’s Dallas Golden and Indianapolis Ben Davis’ Mark Zackery. Thomas is fired up about the Notre Dame cornerback class.
“It’s insane,” he said. “I’m happy to be a part of it. I know we’re going to push each other in practice every single day.”
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It should come as no surprise that Thomas’ player host during the official visit was Ben Morrison, who comes from the same high school that Thomas did. They have a close connection.
“I ask him questions whenever I have one,” said Thomas. “He’s an easy contact and someone who’s been through it. I always hit him up. It was cool to hang out with him and have him guide me throughout the official visit.
“The main thing I took away from the visit was the connection with me, Mark and Dallas. We got tight throughout the trip. Dallas’ host was Jaden Mickey, and Ben and Jaden are best friends. And Mark had Christian Gray. So we were with each other the majority of the time, and we got really close this visit.
Thomas had a sit-down conversation his future head coach during the trip.
“It wasn’t talking ball with Coach Freeman; it was more about life,” said Thomas. “He’s a super genuine guy, and I love Coach Freeman.”
Thomas built a friendship with the Irish’s targets on campus as well.
“I can tell that Madden [Faraimo] and Wu (Nathaniel Owusu Boateng) definitely enjoyed their time at Notre Dame,” Thomas said. “They were having so much fun the entire time and connected well with the commits. We’ll see what they decide in the next couple months. It was the same thing with Jahmir [Joseph] as well.”
