Notre Dame loses 5-star QB recruit Deuce Knight to Auburn: What does flip mean?

Notre Dame's recruiting class suffered a major blow on Wednesday when quarterback Deuce Knight decommitted to Auburn, giving Hugh Freeze and the Tigers a big win in their 2-3 start to the 2024 season.

Knight, a five-star Class of 2025 prospect in the 247Sports Composite out of Lucedale, Miss., committed to Notre Dame in September 2023, but there has been months of speculation about a possible move amid flirtations with Auburn, Ole Miss and Alabama. Notre Dame had worked to retain Knight, the top-ranked prospect in a class of 2025 that will now have a tough time cracking into the top 10. He fell to 13th in the 247Sports Composite.

Knight is now the highest-rated recruit in Auburn's 25-member 2025 class, moving up to No. 3.

AU the time has come🦅

— Deuce Knight (@DeuceKnight) October 2, 2024

WWhat does this mean for Notre Dame?

Knight's loss is arguably bigger than Notre Dame's two recent high-profile departures, defensive end Keon Keeley (Alabama) and safety Peyton Bowen (Oklahoma), from the 2023 cycle. The Irish knew months in advance that both would move on , enough time to find alternatives to their positions. It's harder to replace a quarterback at this stage of the recruiting cycle because there are few blue-chip prospects, nearly all of whom have made their college decisions. Knight will be difficult to replace, even if he was informed in advance of his possible decommitment and the decision comes two months before the early signing deadline.

Of the 65 top-ranked quarterbacks in the 247Sports Composite, 64 have already made verbal commitments. That leaves Notre Dame trying to create its own flip, which it did two years ago with Kenny Minchey after he withdrew from the Dante Moore sweepstakes.

That's hardly an enviable recruiting playbook to beat back. Notre Dame offered Minchey in July before his senior season when he was already committed to Pittsburgh, but his recruitment did not become public knowledge with the Irish until November. Within nine days, Minchey left Pittsburgh (November 14), visited Notre Dame (November 18), and then committed to the Irish (November 22).

On paper, that means Notre Dame doesn't need to rush its next move at quarterback. However, expect the Irish to get one done as the program looks to add a signal-caller this cycle despite signing high-end four-star CJ Carr last cycle.

What does this mean for Auburn?

Auburn may be struggling to get a win on the field right now, but the Tigers got the win they needed on the recruiting trail to provide hope for the quarterback future under Freeze.

Freeze's quarterback situation has been a mess this year between senior Payton Thorne and redshirt freshman Hank Brown. Thorne, the Michigan State transfer, began the season as a starter but was benched for Brown – a former three-star recruit – before taking over again. The duo combined for 16 touchdowns against nine interceptions and struggled to get Freeze's offense going. Auburn ranks 132nd in turnover margin and has lost three games by 10 points or less.

Knight has been openly flirting with Auburn for weeks and has visited several times, including last week for an official visit during a loss to Oklahoma. It felt like it was only a matter of time before he turned around, especially considering how early he committed to Notre Dame.

With his signing, Auburn now has former four-stars Walker White and Knight in the starting blocks as potential quarterbacks of the future. The Tigers already have plenty of wide receiver talent in the system, starting with former five-star Cam Coleman and four-star Malcolm Simmons. Knight is proof that Freeze still has a strong reputation among top recruits, and he could help turn Auburn around for the better in the coming years.

What happened to Knight?

It's hard to find fault with Notre Dame's pursuit considering the investment in unofficial visits to South Bend, combined with Irish assistants traveling to George County High School and Knight traveling this summer with Riley Leonard and CJ Carr trained in Alabama. If Notre Dame could pull a lever in Knight's recruiting, they pulled it.

However, from the start, it was always more difficult to sign Knight than to get him to commit.

Notre Dame had only signed one prospect from Mississippi in the modern era: cornerback Caleb Offord (2020), who spent two seasons with the Irish before moving to Buffalo and then Alabama State. The rural South was hardly a breeding ground for Notre Dame's success either, as the majority of Irish prospects in SEC country were signed from metropolitan areas of Atlanta, Tampa and Miami.

Whatever the case, Knight had been pulled in different directions before, leaving George County on the eve of preseason practice of his junior year to transfer to Lipscomb Academy in Nashville. That move proved to be a disaster, as Knight transferred back to George County after just three games in Tennessee and the prep program later went on probation.

This saga taught Knight some lessons about looking out for his own interests and dealing with outside expectations.

“You don’t have to be tight-lipped, but you can’t listen to what everyone says about a lot of things,” Knight said The athlete Earlier this year. “Half the people wanted me to succeed, half the people wanted me to fail. That means going and coming back, you just have to keep going.

“I hear it from everyone, I hear it walking down the hall. “Hey Deuce, why don't you go here?” I don't know. I do what I want to do.”

Moving to an SEC school appears to allow Knight a more comfortable stay close to home.

Who could the Irish be targeting?

Eight other quarterbacks previously listed Irish offers in their recruitments, with all eight now committed elsewhere. Of that group, Notre Dame was closest with four-star prospect Bear Bachmeier, a four-star prospect from Murrieta, Calif., who transferred to Stanford in February. Bachmeier also listed offers from Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M and Michigan.

Given the state of Stanford football, with its move to the ACC and three straight 3-9 seasons, could Notre Dame find its way back into recruiting Bachmeier?

Notre Dame could also take its time reevaluating its quarterback board and then bet that the rest of the season will move the needle with prospects committing elsewhere. Would making the College Football Playoff with the improvement of Riley Leonard make other quarterbacks think twice about the Irish?

Regardless, Notre Dame will have to move on from a quarterback from another program if it wants to sign one this cycle.

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(Photo: Barbara Gauntt / USA Today Network / Imagn Images)