Meet the five 2024 recruits walking on for Notre Dame football

Notre Dame’s 23 scholarship recruits in the 2024 class are not the only additions to next year’s roster. The Fighting Irish are also adding five preferred walk-ons.

As the Irish discovered last season, being a PWO does not just mean providing a scout look for the varsity players. Freshman wide receiver Jordan Faison — a scholarship men’s lacrosse player — emerged on the scene to become one of the most dynamic pieces of the Notre Dame offense in 2023. Faison hauled in 14 passes for 207 yards and 3 touchdowns. 

Faison is now on a football scholarship. The NCAA counts scholarship athletes from other sports toward football’s 85-man limit if they appear in a football game. 

Few players in college football impact the team as a PWO like Faison. Still, these athletes hope to defy the odds and become varsity contributors during their Irish careers.

Meet the five players looking to do so as preferred walk-on candidates in Notre Dame’s 2024 recruiting class.

WR Matt Jeffery

School: Cheshire (Conn.) High 
Measurables: 6-foot-1, 195 pounds 
Division I offers: N/A
Senior season highlights

Matt Jeffery has the best chance to replicate Faison’s path because, well, he’s also a standout lacrosse player. He is the country’s top lacrosse recruit, and USA Today named him the National High School Boys’ Lacrosse Player of the Year in August.

Jeffery plays defensive back and wide receiver for the Cheshire Rams and will play wide receiver at Notre Dame. In six games as a senior, he caught 12 passes for 209 yards (17.4 yards per catch) and 2 touchdowns. He also had 51 carries for 313 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 9 scores. 

Like Faison, if Jeffery appears in a game for Notre Dame, he will be considered a scholarship football player and count toward the 85-man limit. 

For more on Jeffery click here.

LB Tommy Powlus

School: Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn
Measurables: 6-1, 210 pounds 
Division I offers: N/A
Senior season highlights

Tommy Powlus will follow his older brother, quarterback Ron Powlus III, by playing for the Fighting Irish. The elder Powlus medically retired in the spring after two seasons with the Irish. He and Tommy are the sons of legacy Irish quarterback Ron Powlus. 

As of a year ago, the youngest Powlus recorded a 315-pound front squat, 250-pound bench and 245-pound power clean. He is also an outstanding lacrosse player. Academically, he reports a 4.05 GPA.

For more on Tommy Powlus click here. 

QB Anthony Rezac

School: Omaha (Neb.) Westside 
Measurables: 6-3½ , 190 pounds 
Division I offers: Air Force, Army, Colgate, Dartmouth, Harvard, Navy, South Dakota and Yale
Senior season highlights

The twin brother of Notre Dame 2024 class linebacker signee Teddy Rezac is an outstanding quarterback. In three years as the starting signal caller for the Westside Warriors, Anthony Rezac racked up over 8,000 yards and 104 touchdowns in Nebraska’s highest classification. He also guided them to back-to-back state titles.

As a senior, he completed 160-218 (73.4%) passes for 2,316 yards, 30 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in 13 games. He compiled 905 yards and 15 scores on the ground on 97 carries (9.3 yards per carry). 

Rezac does not have an On3 or On3 Industry Ranking rating. However, 247sports awarded him three stars, ranking him as the No. 137 quarterback and No. 17 prospect in Nebraska in the 2024 recruiting cycle. 

For more on Anthony Rezac click here.

WR Xavier Southall

School: Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy  via Alexandria (Va.) St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School
Measurables: 6-1, 180 pounds 
Division I offers: Alcorn State and Brown
Spring season highlights

The son of former Notre Dame free safety Cornelius “Corny” Southall, Xavier Southall, will follow in his father’s footsteps by playing for the Fighting Irish. The elder Southall started on the Irish 1988 national championship team. After playing football, he worked for the United States Secret Service on the Presidential Protection Division for 27 years.

The younger Southall plays for the IMG Academy “White” Varsity, which is different from the noted national team. He tied for the “White” team lead with 21 catches while adding 255 yards and 3 touchdowns in 10 games. Southall also had 3 carries for 84 yards and 2 scores.

For more on Xavier Southall click here.

LS Joseph Vinci

School: Westwood (Mass.) High 
Measurables: 6-4, 195 pounds 
Division I offers: Boston College
Senior season highlights

Joseph Vinci chose to walk on for the Irish over a scholarship offer from Boston College. Connecticut, Dartmouth, Harvard, Michigan, North Carolina, Penn State, and Virginia also expressed interest in him, and he visited each one of those campuses. 

According to Rubio Long Snapping, a scouting service headed by former UCLA long snapper Chris Rubio, Vinci is a five-star specialist recruit and the No. 3 prospect in the class at his position.

For more on Vinci click here.