2026 DB Ksani Jiles Explains Why He's Locked In Notre Dame Official

Ksani Jiles‍ hasn’t locked in all of his officials, but the 2026 IMG Academy defensive back has locked in one…to Notre Dame.

The 6-foot, 180-pounder, originally from California, will be in South Bend for an official on June 13th.

Jiles points to Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive backs coach Mike Mickens as major factors in his interest.

“My biggest reason for going up to Notre Dame was just the relationship that I have with Coach Freeman and Coach Mickens,” he says. “It really sits with me. It's really been big with me and my family.”

The Notre Dame staff has made its interest in Jiles clear.

“They call me every day and they've really been pushing hard,” he says. “They've been one of the top schools pushing very hard for me to come up here and that's really my biggest reason for setting an OV up there.”

Freeman and Mickens have outlined a versatile role for Jiles if he were to play at Notre Dame.

“They want me to play a role like Xavier Watts played; like be the leader of the backend,” says Jiles.

“I feel as though I can do that. That's been their biggest pitch to me, especially since he's going to the NFL.”

Jiles has dozens of offers including Notre Dame, Florida, Miami, LSU, Penn State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, USC and Washington among others. 

He has some other trips in mind as well.

“I don't have the dates yet, but I plan to set up officials to USC, Washington, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss,” he says. 

He has an idea when he intends to make a final decision.

“I plan to commit sometime in June, before the season,” he says. 

Jiles first visited South Bend last March.

“When I went up there, I really saw the religion part. I just want to see more of the football part and basically where I can fit in the system and where their intentions are for me.”

Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

Under Armour Green Notre Dame Fighting Irish Performance Playoff Polo