Dallas Golden Goes In-Depth On Notre Dame Decision

Dallas Golden‍ was never going to rush the recruiting process. 

A prospect of Golden’s caliber would never need to.

But the elite 2025 Florida athlete was never going to prolong it just for the sake of attention either, which is what led Golden to announcing his commitment to Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon without any public notice he’d be making his selection beforehand.

The Berkeley Prep star chose the Irish over offers from schools like Clemson, Georgia, Florida State and several others. There was talk of official visits to all four before making a commitment, but Golden will now only be taking one official, to South Bend on June 7th, with the rest of Notre Dame’s defensive pledges. 

“The family feel,” Golden said of why he pulled the trigger for the Irish. “It was a lot different than the other schools I've been visiting. I just prayed, me and my family prayed about it.

“I had that gut feeling. I prayed about it, prayed about every single day. God spoke to me, that this is the right fit for me.”

Golden’s own gut and his prayer was backed up by those around him.

“I had people in my corner who helped me throughout the process,” he said, pointing to friends and former Berkeley Prep classmates, Tre and Troy Reader, who play football and baseball, respectively for the Irish. “They said that it was a great fit for me and I felt like it was a great fit for me also.

“I also want to mention Deuce Knight‍. He played a huge role in getting me to Notre Dame. He used to be in my ear just talking to me about Notre Dame is best for me. Then it kind of clicked in my mind like, 'Yeah, this is the place for me.'”

And of course, Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive backs coach Mike Mickens and general manager Chad Bowden were instrumental.

“(Freeman) played a big role, just building a relationship over time,” Golden said. “The more you talk to him, the more you get that feeling. Every time I talk to him it feels organic. Nothing's forced.

“Me and Chad are really close. It's kind of the same thing as with Coach Freeman. Just over time, being up there four times, you get that bond.”

Golden could fill a variety of roles for the Irish, including receiver, but is mainly focused on corner. 

“Maybe nickel, I'm not really sure, but I'm a 100 percent sure corner,” he said. “I really want to get on special teams, kick returner and punt returner.

“We haven't really talked about offense, but I wouldn't mind getting on the offensive side of the ball. That'd be pretty cool to do.”

He’s looking forward to working with Mickens.

“Just being coached by a great defensive back coach; he's a great person, great guy to talk to,” he said. “I feel like when I get there, he's going to be always there for me. So that was pretty important in my process getting up to Notre Dame.”

And now that he’s onboard, Golden will be looking to join Knight in recruiting other top targets to South Bend.

“We've got to get Jayvan Boggs‍ from Cocoa,” Golden said of the 2025 Florida receiver. “I've been texting him and we've been going back and forth, so hopefully that works.

“Really, we're just trying to get a natty; building a championship team.”

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