Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Irish Flip Antavious Richardson from USF

Notre Dame landed its first big wide receiver prospect since expanding the 2025 recruiting class target board.

Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) catches a pass for a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame Football Recruiting: Antavious Richardson

It’s been a long time coming. After missing out on some initial top wide receiver targets in the 2025 class, the Notre Dame coaching staff went back to the drawing board—and their efforts are now paying off.

Four-star wide receiver Antavious Richardson from Greenville (GA) High School took an official visit to Notre Dame on the weekend of September 20th. This visit took place after making it to Alabama earlier in September.

While some programs, including Alabama, offered the talented Georgia athlete the chance to play in the defensive backfield, Notre Dame made a strong commitment to him as a wide receiver. This focus ultimately played a significant role in the Irish's successful recruitment, leading to great news on Tuesday afternoon.

BREAKING: Four-Star ATH Antavious Richardson has Flipped his Commitment from USF to Notre Dame, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’1 180 ATH from Greenville, GA had been Committed to the Bulls since June

“I believe in Coach Freeman & his program I think that this team is gonna… pic.twitter.com/HnMLFkC37X

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) October 1, 2024

Antavious Richardson's Recruitment

Richardson's recruitment has surged over the past six months. Originally committed to Georgia State, he flipped to South Florida in June when FBS schools began expressing interest.

In August, higher-profile programs took notice of the Greenville High School quarterback and track star, leading to a flurry of offers. He received offers from Mississippi State and Vanderbilt in June, but from August 10th onward, North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, UCF, Louisville, and Alabama all extended offers within a three-week span.

He quickly scheduled a visit to Notre Dame, and the rest is history. His final decision came down to Notre Dame, Alabama, and North Carolina.

Recruiting Rankings

In recent months, recruiting outlets have taken notice of Richardson's expanding offer list, resulting in a significant rise in his rankings. Back in April, he held a rating of 83 on 247Sports, classifying him as a low-level three-star.

Fast forward to today, and he has improved to an 89, the highest level of three-star ranking the site offers. On3 has gone even further, recently including Richardson in their new On300 rankings. Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI talked about that ranking here.

Full List of Antavious Richardson Rankings:

On3: No. 292 Nationally, Four-Star
247Sports: No. 19
Athlete Nationally: Three-Star
Rivals: Three-Star
ESPN: Three-Star

The On3 Industry Ranking averages Richardson's position as the No. 351 player nationally, also giving him a four-star designation. I anticipate that he will continue to rise as other recruiting outlets update their rankings in the coming months.

Antavious Richardson Scouting Report and What's Next?

Listed at 6-1, 180 pounds, Richardson presents an intriguing evaluation because he does not play wide receiver for his Greenville High School team.

Instead, he plays quarterback on offense and defensive back on defense. As the best athlete on the field, he serves as a versatile weapon at quarterback, throwing for 411 yards and 5 touchdowns while rushing for 571 yards and an additional score.

On defense, he has recorded one interception and five tackles for loss in just four games this season.

He will join Notre Dame as a true freshman, entering the program as a raw wide receiver but with significant upside. That said, patience will be essential as the Georgia 400m state champion transitions to playing wide receiver full-time.

Richardson becomes the third wide receiver commit in the 2025 class, joining Elijah Burress and Jerome Bettis Jr.

This past weekend, Notre Dame welcomed an official visit from Arizona wide receiver commit Isaiah Mizell and will host SMU wide receiver commit Jalen Cooper for an official visit in October.

It remains to be seen if they will pursue both Mizell and Cooper now that Richardson is on board, but the expectation is that they want at least one more wide receiver in the class.

However, it would be challenging for the coaching staff to turn down either if the opportunity arises and both want to join the class.

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