Former Notre Dame Four-Star Recruit Medically Retires from Football
There was a time that Brenan Vernon appeared to represent the future for Notre Dame football.
After the saga of the Brian Kelly departure following the 2021 season, the Mentor, Ohio star defensive lineman became Notre Dame's first commitment in the 2023 recruiting class, the first full class that was assembled by Marcus Freeman, as head coach.
Freeman showed his recruiting strength early, going into Ohio and getting a big-time prospect in Vernon, who was rated as the 60th overall player in the cycle by Rivals, and the second-best player from all of Ohio.
"Seems like a particularly high-floor prospect among the nation's elite defenders in the 2023 class" is how 247Sports described him back in 2023.
Brenan Vernon Retires from Notre Dame Football
On Monday, it was announced that Vernon's football career had come to an end.
Vernon did not see any game action all of last season after undergoing MCL surgery in the spring, while he did participate on the scout team during the fall.
Ultimately, Vernon played in just four games during his time at Notre Dame, recording two career tackles.
Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway
Vernon is a case of why you can't always just go off recruiting rankings. He didn't reach his top 60 overall player billing that Rivals gave him, but I despise calling college athletes a bust.
Notre Dame hosting 2023 commits Brenan Vernon (@brenanvernon), Adon Shuler (@adon_shuler), Drayk Bowen (@DraykBowen) and Cooper Flanagan (@CooperXFlanagan) this weekend. pic.twitter.com/7koB4KWYwJ
- Matt Freeman (@mattfreeman05_) November 20, 2021
It didn't work out for Vernon on the football field.
To quote Fortune from the movie Rudy, "There are greater tragedies in the world."
When I look back on Vernon's career, the first memory that comes to mind for me is when the coaching staff all busted out Vans shoes during his visit.
I'm fairly sure that was a Chad Bowden move, because the old general manager of Notre Dame football knew that the Ohio high school star loved those kinds of shoes. It spoke to a changing of the guard at Notre Dame, where egos were pushed aside in order to relate to potential players, instead of trying to make potential players squeeze into a specific mold.
For Notre Dame in 2026, the loss of Vernon doesn't mean a whole lot as he would have been buried on an enhanced depth chart on the defensive line.
Vernon's football career might not have gone the way he or Notre Dame fans would have hoped, but even without the dream ending, I will still look back at his time with the Fighting Irish as being representative of a changing recruiting front.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/notredame as Former Notre Dame Four-Star Recruit Medically Retires from Football.
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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 5:56 PM.