Notre Dame football hosting underrated 2026 cornerback, and could be another tremendous Mike Mickens evaluation

Mike Mickens has made it a habit of identifying top high school talent in the secondary, and has taken the Notre Dame recruiting game to a whole other level. He has been responsible for landing star cornerbacks Benjamin Morrison, Christian Gray, and Leonard Moore over the last several years. Mickens has also helped players like Cam Hart develop into big time players.

In the 2026 recruiting class, Coach Mickens once again has his eyes on some underrated talent. There is nobody that fits that description better than Roanoke (Va.) North Cross School cornerback Jaziel Hart. The Virginia star is scheduled to take a visit to South Bend on Wednesday.

Hart is oddly rated on major recruiting services. He is currently ranked as a three-star recruit on the On3 recruiting ranking, currently sitting as the No. 772 overall player, No. 63 cornerback, and No. 13 player in the state of Virginia for the 2026 recruiting class. 247Sports hasn’t even ranked Hart yet.

The 5-11, 170-pound cover man is being pursued by some big time programs despite his odd rankings. Some of the top programs that have extended offers to Hart include the Fighting Irish, Michigan, Tennessee, Penn State, South Carolina, West Virginia, UNC, Missouri, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Indiana, Maryland, Pitt, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and Stanford among several others.

As a junior, Hart put together an impressive season for North Cross School. He managed to collect 23 total tackles on the defensive side of the football in 10 games. Hart was also a star on the offensive side of the football, hauling in 24 receptions for 521 yards and six touchdowns. He also added 198 yards and five more scores on the ground.

The last time Notre Dame recruited a player with the last name Hart out of the state of Virginia, things turned out pretty well. This particular Hart is a really intriguing athlete who brings a ton of versatility to the table. It will be interesting to see where things go from here.