Notre Dame's Quarterback Plan Just Took A Brutal Recruiting Turn

Rapid developments in Notre Dame's recruiting efforts are causing a stir as Trey Tagliaferri retracts his quarterback commitment, potentially shifting the dynamics for 2028 prospects.

Notre Dame’s hold on its 2028 quarterback commitment barely lasted a week.

Trey Tagliaferri, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Bergen Catholic signal-caller, has backed off his pledge to the Fighting Irish just six days after committing, turning one of the oddest recruiting twists of the Marcus Freeman era into an even stranger one. Tagliaferri has not made a formal public statement of his own, but his reposting of Hayes Fawcett’s update made the situation clear enough.

The timing stings for Notre Dame, especially because other quarterbacks in the 2028 class have already committed elsewhere in the wake of Tagliaferri’s original decision. Now the Irish are back on the board at the position, and schools with quarterbacks already in the fold should probably expect Freeman and quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli to keep pressing.

For Tagliaferri, the next move may already be coming into focus. Rivals’ RPM is currently trending Oklahoma for the 4-star prospect, though no official prediction has been logged yet. That tracks with how he spoke about the Sooners earlier in the process, when he made it clear he was impressed by Brent Venables’ program and even called it “Quarterback U.”

His interest in Oklahoma wasn’t exactly hidden. Tagliaferri visited Norman the weekend before his official visit to Notre Dame, and it looked at the time like the Sooners had made a real impression. He also sounded enthusiastic when he spoke about OU after that trip.

" OU football is amazing," Tagliaferri told Sooners On SI right after his visit to Oklahoma. "Coach (Brent) Venables is an amazing coach, and I would be honored to play under him."

That enthusiasm apparently lingered even after he committed to Notre Dame on Father’s Day. Tagliaferri said at the time that he didn’t arrive in South Bend expecting to make a decision, but ended up doing exactly that while standing on the field, with his parents backing him up.

The decommitment leaves Notre Dame with a notable loss. Tagliaferri has already stacked up a strong résumé, earning spots on the 2025 N.J. Football All-State third-team offense, 2025 Jersey Sports Zone’s Non-Public Offense, 2025 All-Bergen County first-team offense and 2025 Super Football All-Division first-team offense.

On the field, his sophomore season was productive: in 11 games, he completed 131 of 211 passes for 2,215 yards, 29 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions, while also adding a rushing score.

Still, there’s at least a little room for Notre Dame to keep perspective. Tagliaferri never quite fit the profile the Irish have been targeting at quarterback in recent years, and he doesn’t even bring the mobility of CJ Carr, who is not exactly a scrambling quarterback himself.

In Other News...

Charles Jagusah Just Gave Notre Dame A Massive Reason For Hope

Charles Jagusahs road back has been one of the quieter Notre Dame storylines to watch this offseason, but it carries obvious weight for a program that values stability in the trenches. The offensive linemans recovery has stretched well beyond the usual timetable after a severe arm injury in a UTV accident, and the process has required multiple surgeries and a long rehab grind before anyone could even start talking seriously about football again.

Now, the updates coming out of Notre Dames training staff at least give the Irish something concrete to hold onto. Jagusah has reportedly reached a point where he is fully healed, and even if the final step back onto the field still sits ahead, the fact that he is trending back toward availability for the 2026 season changes the feel of his comeback from uncertain to genuinely promising. For a team that leaned on him in major moments before the injury, that is no small development. [Read more 🡒]

Notre Dame Has Too Many Difference Makers Getting Ignored Right Now

Notre Dames offseason buzz has a way of getting swallowed by bigger-picture national chatter, but there are plenty of reasons the Irish think the roster is deeper than the usual preseason conversation suggests. On the offensive line, Lambert and Anthonie Knapp are drawing internal optimism that does not match the amount of attention they have received outside South Bend, while the defense has its own group of players who already look poised to matter in 2026.

Boubacar Traore has been framed as one of the most important returning pieces up front, and Drayk Bowen is another name the Irish believe belongs in the discussion more often than it has been. Add in the receiving help Notre Dame brought in from the portal and the picture gets even more interesting, because the program appears to have difference makers spread across the roster without all of them getting their due just yet. [Read more 🡒]