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Two Notre Dame football commits, one target earn spots on preseason All-America team

Kyle Kellyby:Kyle Kelly08/15/24

ByKyleKelly

Mark Zackery
2025 cornerback Mark Zackery. (Kyle Kelly/Blue & Gold)

Two college football recruits verbally committed to Notre Dame have been recognized as preseason All-Americans. 

On Monday, MaxPreps selected Fighting Irish four-star defensive back pledges Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery to their first-team offense and second-team defense, respectively. They categorized Golden as an all-purpose player on offense while Zackery was an all-purpose defender. 

Notre Dame 2025 class On300 linebacker target Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy earned a spot on the second team. 

Golden’s first-team nod comes after the 6-foot, 188-pounder led Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep to a state championship last season. He was an indispensable piece on offense, accounting for 1,861 yards (1,467 rushing, 394 receiving) and 24 touchdowns in 14 games.

Defensively, MaxPreps credits him with 5 interceptions and 4 pass breakups. 

According to the On3 Industry Ranking — a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services — Golden is the No. 80 overall player, No. 9 safety nationally and No. 14 prospect in Florida in the 2025 class. Notre Dame projects him to play cornerback. 

The Irish also like Zackery as a cornerback. He led Indianapolis Ben Davis High to a state title in 2023 by excelling on offense and defense. In the passing game, he accounted for 53 receptions for 823 yards and 8 touchdowns in 12 games. One of those touchdowns came against Owusu-Boateng and IMG Academy on Sept. 8. 

On defense, Zackery had 39 tackles (37 solo), 8 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 caused fumbles.

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The On3 Industry Ranking considers Zackery the No. 104 overall player, No. 12 cornerback in America and No. 3 recruit in Indiana in 2025. 

Owusu-Boateng is among two uncommitted prospects publicized on Notre Dame football’s 2025 class recruiting board. The 6-0½, 200-pounder is down to the Irish, Florida, Michigan, Ohio State and Southern California. He is the No. 69 overall player, No. 5 linebacker in the country and No. 11 prospect in Florida in the class. 

MaxPreps has Owusu-Boateng down for 45 tackles (29 solo), 6 TFLs and 1 sack in 8 games. The four-star also had 1 quarterback hurry, 1 pass breakup and 1 fumble recovery. 

In addition to Owusu-Boateng, Notre Dame also targets San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic linebacker Madden Faraimo. He is a four-star who ranks as the No. 90 overall player, No. 8 linebacker in the nation and No. 7 recruit in California in 2025. 

Faraimo did not earn a spot on the MaxPreps preseason All-America team. 

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