Notre Dame Commit Ethan Long Is Helping To Make History In The Secondary

Early in January, Notre Dame received a big commitment from 2025 Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick School safety Ethan Long. The Connecticut standout selected the Irish over finalists Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin.

For the first time since that commitment, Long returned to South Bend this past weekend for Junior Day. The 6-2, 185-pound defensive back went in depth on that visit, which was yet another great experience despite a snowy weekend.

"The visit overall was incredible,” Long told Irish Breakdown. "My favorite moments from the visit were talking with Coach (Chris) O'Leary because we were going over the defensive scheme and what my role would be and we were having a great time talking football and it meant a lot because I can't wait for him to coach me.

"Then also talking with Coach (Marcus) Freeman and Coach (Al) Golden was great,” Long continued. "They always keep it real. Then hanging with the rest of the recruits was great as well because they're either going to be my future teammates or soon to be teammates and we all bonded so quickly.”

As a commit, this trip was pretty unique. It wasn’t about doing research and trying to find the right fit. Long had the chance to be around his future players and teammates, and just enjoy it.

"Being around the other recruits and coaches .... is the best thing,” he explained. "We were having a great time and just keeping it real was great. Being a commit, it felt great because now I'm not looking for anything to help me make a decision. I got to go back home and talk to my future coaches and teammates.”

Long also had the chance to help the Notre Dame program recruit. He spent a lot of time with a couple future teammates hopefully. The future of the Irish secondary appears to be in a great place.

"I spent a lot of time with the other commits like Ivan (Taylor), Cree (Thomas), Deuce (Knight), CJ (May), Davion (Dixon) and Justin (Thurman),” he said. "The other recruits that were there that I talked to a lot were Dallas Golden and Mark Zachery. Getting those two would set up our defensive back room to make history. My role is to just show them why Notre Dame should be called home.”

As a junior, Long put together a tremendous season for Brunswick School. In nine games, he collected 56 total tackles, three interceptions and three more forced fumbles.

Long had seen a dramatic rise as a recruit since a stellar last offseason. He now ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 27 safety in the 2025 recruiting class by Rivals, holding offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan State, UCLA ,Pitt, Boston College and Duke among others.