What's Next For Notre Dame Football Recruiting and Deuce Knight?

Marcus Freeman and company largely have the 2025 class locked up. What is next?

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; A detailed view of Notre Dame Fighting Irish helmet on the sideline during the game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Notre Dame currently boasts the No.10 class in the country according to 247Sports and the No.12 class according to On3.

The class is filled up for the most part, with 22 total athletes committed to Notre Dame in the 2025 cycle. Based on the remaining targets and positions of need, it can be reasonably anticipated that this class will end up at around 26-28 commits, barring there are no flips.

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

Speaking of flips, that leads us directly to Deuce Knight. Many Irish fans are exhausted of hearing about Knight but as it stands, he is still committed to Notre Dame and that counts for something.

He has been rumored to leave the class, with a potential flip to Auburn, for weeks now but has still not pulled the trigger and 'officially' decommitted from Notre Dame. Knight has continued to visit Auburn, including this past weekend and the Tigers staff has not been shy about throwing around NIL money.

There have been reports that Auburn is throwing around "life changing" money in order to land Knight's pledge, but those of course can not be confirmed nor reported.

As a senior in high school, it makes sense to at least listen to an offer rumored to be around $750,000. However, burning bridges with Notre Dame along the way and spurning the relationship the Irish staff built with him over the last year and more is certainly something.

We expect there to be some sort of resolution with the Deuce Knight saga, likely within the next two weeks. If you're a follower of crystal ball picks, it is not trending well for Notre Dame.

Moving past Knight, linebackers Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Madden Faraimo remain the biggest targets for the Irish on the board. It can be expected that Notre Dame will land one, if not both, of these star linebackers as their individual decisions loom.

Notre Dame's win over Texas A&M in College Station, along with the play of the Irish linebackers had to be noticed by Owusu-Boateng and Faraimo. The linebacker play was tremendous overall, specifically by the young 'backers, Drayk Bowen, Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa and Jaiden Ausberry.

Lastly, a glaring weakness in this 2025 Notre Dame class is the wide receiver position. The only commitments as of today are Elijah Burress and Jerome Bettis Jr., however the latter is expected to play defense, leaving just Burress.

Why Notre Dame Football Would Survive Losing Deuce Knight: Breaking Down Recent 5th-Ranked Quarterback Prospects

The Notre Dame staff is turning up the heat on a handful of receivers, committed and uncommitted, in the 2025 class. Stay locked to Notre Dame on SI for more details when those names come to light.