2026 Safety Kaden Gebhardt Talks Irish Invasion & More

At the beginning of January, Kaden Gebhardt‍ didn’t have any offers. 

Now, the 2026 Ohio safety has more than a dozen and has an aggressive camp schedule that could lead to more.

Gebhardt worked out at Notre Dame Irish’s Invasion on Sunday. He’s set to camp at Ohio State on Wednesday, Penn State on Sunday before camps at Michigan and Florida later in the month.

“It's a cool experience because it's all my dream schools as a kid, just to get a chance to compete for a scholarship is big,” he said.

He grabbed his first offer from Toledo on Jan. 17th and has since added 13 more from schools including Purdue, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Duke, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Louisville and Oklahoma among others.

“I remember a couple months ago, I was always worried that I was going to not get my first and now I've got 14,” he said. “Definitely just taking the pressure off a little bit, just being able to play more freely and everything.”

He looked pressure-free on Sunday.

“I thought it went good,” the Olentangy High School standout said. “Everything went well.

“It was definitely some good competition. I thought I did well. On a couple one v one reps, I just did not turn my head back to the ball, which hurt me in two and one v ones. Everything else I thought I did really good.”

Gebhardt appreciated the opportunity work on the field with Notre Dame defensive backs coach Mike Mickens and defensive coordinator Al Golden. 

“They all liked me and stuff like that and they'll to get back to me soon,” he said.

A Fort Wayne native, Gebhardt likes the tradition and campus in South Bend.

“I'm definitely going to try to get back for a game,” he said.

It’s early, but Gebhardt already has an idea of what will be most important when he’s choosing a college.

”I would say the relationships at the school and just the feeling of it being home and stuff.”

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