Notre Dame Recruiting: Where Deuce Knight and Irish Commits Land in On3 Rankings Release

On3, one of the most nationally recognized recruiting rankings sites, released a rankings update today, and several Notre Dame commits appeared in the top 300

George County quarterback Deuce Knight, photographed in Ridgeland, Miss., Aug. 10, 2024, is a member of the 2024 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen. / Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

Notre Dame Football Recruiting Update

As the high school football season is now officially a few weeks underway, On3 has released its first rankings update since the beginning of July.

Notre Dame previously had eight commits in the site's top 300, but a new face joined the rankings for the first time this cycle. Immaculate Conception (IL) EDGE Dominik Hulak makes his debut in top 300, appearing at No. 287 nationally. With this jump, he is now the No. 26 EDGE player in the class of 2025 - up from No. 40 previously. A sizable and well deserved jump from the Chicago burbs product.

On top of Hulak, offensive tackle Will Black, quarterback Deuce Knight, safety JaDon Blair, tight end James Flanigan, cornerback Dallas Golden, cornerback Mark Zackery, EDGE Christopher Burgess Jr., and defensive lineman Joseph Reiff all retained spots in the On300.

🚨NEW🚨 Notre Dame OT commit Will Black ranks No. 2 and five-stars in the updated 2025 On300☘️https://t.co/BylR1G8qkU pic.twitter.com/GKGu5TdCLt

— On3 Recruits (@On3Recruits) September 16, 2024

Notre Dame Recruiting In The Top 300

Choate Rosemary Hall (CT) Offensive Tackle Will Black remains Notre Dame's highest rated commit and only current five-star according to On3. Black is ranked as the No. 2 overall recruit nationally, making him the highest ranked non QB. If his rankings holds, he will be the highest rated Notre Dame signee by any rankings service since Jaylon Smith in 2013.

George County (MS) Quarterback Deuce Knight falls down four spots in the rankings coming in at No. 32. While he is technically considered a four-star right now, if he remains in the top 32 when the finals rankings are released, he would end up a five-star. Back-to-back borderline five-star QBs for the Irish would be a gigantic leap in the right direction.

Mount Tabor (NC) Four-Star Safety JaDon Blair continues his ascent up the rankings appearing at No. 51, up from No. 54 in July. On3 lists Blair as the No. 3 safety in the country.

Notre Dame De La Baie Academy (WI) Four-Star TE James Flanigan remains steady as the No. 92 recruit nationally and No. 5 tight end.

Berkeley Prep (FL) Four-Star Cornerback Dallas Golden jumps up 8 spots to No. 104. On3 also changed his position on their official website from safety to corner, as that is where he will play for the Irish. He debuts at the No. 13 corner nationally.

Ben Davis (IN) Four-Star Cornerback Mark Zackery also remains steady as the No. 122 overall recruit nationally. He did receive a small bump down from No. 14 to No. 15 at corner, however.

Simeon (IL) Four-Star EDGE Christopher Burgess Jr. is another player in Notre Dame's class that saw his national ranking stay the same, as he comes in at No. 173 overall. Like Zackery, he moved down slightly in the positional rankings from No. 17 to No. 19.

York (IL) Four-Star Defensive Lineman Joseph Reiff dropped 8 spots and comes in at No. 277 nationally. On3 remains the highest of all the major recruiting services on Reiff's potential.

Four Notre Dame Commits Outside of the On300 Move Up

Punahou (HI) Three-Star Linebacker Ko'o Kia saw a sizeable jump in the rankings and is now close to four-star status on On3. He is now listed as the No. 33 linebacker in the country (up from No. 48), and his overall rating changed from an 88 to an 89.

Snider (IN) Three-Star Safety Brandon Logan also made a sizeable leap in the rankings. Coming into today, he was the No. 40 safety nationally. He is now No. 29. Out of Notre Dame's three stars, my money is on him to eventually make the jump to four-star status in the final rankings.

St. Xavier (OH) Three Star Defensive Lineman Gordy Sulfsted and Miami Palmetto (FL) Three-Star Defensive Lineman Davion Dixon both received modest positional ranking jumps. Sulfsted is now the No. 103 defensive lineman nationally, up from No. 105. Dixon is now the No. 126 nationally, up from No. 128.

Final Thoughts On The New Recruiting Rankings

I don't really like to nitpick rankings too much, especially the top part of the rankings. I think Dallas Golden is a surefire top 50 prospect and I know Notre Dame is also obsessed with what he can do at the next level. On3 lists him just outside of the Top 100. That is not something to complain about.

I've come to the conclusion that the industry simply doesn't like three of Notre Dame commits as much as I do, or the Notre Dame staff does.

Brophy Prep (AZ) Three-Star Cornerback Cree Thomas, Brunswick School (CT) Three-Star Safety Ethan Long, and DePaul Catholic (NJ) Three-Star Wide Receiver Elijah Burress all moved down in On3's positional rankings, which usually suggests they moved down nationally as well even though they are technically not ranked nationally by the service. I thought for sure all guys would end up four-stars at some point, but there is still time.

In the case of Thomas and Long, both were early, major targets for Notre Dame Secondary Coach Mike Mickens. He has a history of proving the industry wrong on recruits, dating back to his days at Cincinnati as well.

All in all, a strong showing by the Notre Dame recruits, with much more good than bad.