Notre Dame's unique QB recruitment strategy

AtoZ Sports

Ryan Roberts discusses how Notre Dame's quarterback coach Gino Guidugli and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock are using a unique tactic for recruiting QB's for the Fighting Irish

Transcript

00:00The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are attempting a very unique quarterback recruiting strategy

00:04in the 2027 class.

00:06Let's talk about what makes it so unique, slightly risky, and talk about the players

00:10that you need to know early on.

00:15Ryan Roberts from A to Z Sports, breaking down everything Notre Dame football.

00:18Folks, want to talk a little recruiting strategy in the 2027 class for the Notre Dame Fighting

00:23Irish quarterback position, the most important position, not only in the game of football,

00:27but arguably in all of sports.

00:29And we've known that Notre Dame has done a really good job recruiting the quarterback

00:32position over the last few years.

00:33You talk about Kenny Minchie, CJ Carr, Noah Grubbs, Blake Heberts was obviously in the

00:382025 class.

00:39So Notre Dame has done a really good job at that position, signal callers, particularly

00:44the last couple of years.

00:45They are trying, though, a slightly unorthodox and unique strategy in the 2027 class.

00:53So before this past weekend, Notre Dame had not offered a single quarterback in the 2027

00:59recruiting class.

01:00Then they were the only team.

01:02There was no power for team on in any of those four major conferences that had not offered

01:08a single quarterback in the 2027 class.

01:11Notre Dame was being very selective, a little bit picky, totally fine with that.

01:15And they had a wide and long search.

01:19This was a huge group effort, obviously, from offensive coordinator, Mike Denrock, quarterback,

01:24coach, Gino Gadulli.

01:26They were traveling all over the place, seeing these players throw, getting them on campus,

01:31talking to everyone about these quarterbacks.

01:33Now, this process, while selective, I think does have some positives to it.

01:39One, you're really finding out who are the players that you really want in this class.

01:46And after you've been recruiting the quarterback position so well, I understand being a little

01:50bit picky.

01:50I like that aspect of it.

01:52The other side, too, is that the fact that you have been recruiting so well, you don't

01:57really necessarily need to have a number one guy in this class and have any sort of desperation.

02:03You can take a gamble or two in this class, and you could potentially be very strategic

02:08with who you want to bring into that room.

02:11The negatives, or I should say maybe the potential risks involved, though, is that the fact that

02:18you are, even though you've been talking to these guys behind the scenes, recruiting them

02:21for a while, until they get that offer, things don't get quite real, right?

02:26Like, they're not a full option for you until they are officially offered by the team.

02:30And that means that you have less time from offer to potential commitments.

02:35Will that hurt them?

02:37Will it not?

02:38And then you also have to talk about the fact you're keeping a smaller quarterback board

02:41here, if you have to create a new board, add to the board, create more options, potentially,

02:47those players now know the next wave that they were not the first options, and they may

02:51have been players that you've been recruiting for a little bit of a while.

02:54So will that hurt you and your presence with those players long term?

02:58Those are the questions I have.

03:00Now, that being said, here are the two quarterbacks that have been offered so far, and we found

03:05about this over the last week.

03:06One is a very intriguing player out of the state of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana,

03:11Evangel Christian Academy quarterback, Peyton Houston.

03:15Now, some people are going to look at his profile and say, he's 5'11", 196 pounds.

03:19We don't want to go back that way, right?

03:20Like, we don't want any more Ian Books.

03:22We don't want any more Drew Pines.

03:23We don't want these undersized quarterbacks that maybe lack some physical traits in some

03:27capacity.

03:28That's not Peyton Houston.

03:30That's why I could not care less about how tall he is.

03:32He has one of the stronger arms that you're going to find in the 2027 recruiting class.

03:36This kid has arm talent for days.

03:40Now, an interesting one, because there was just a crystal ball put in on the rival network

03:44for him to land with Oklahoma.

03:47Now, some people I've talked to have said that's probably a little bit too early, right?

03:51Like, the process is still going to play out.

03:53He was on record at the rival's five-star camp that he wants to commit sometime in the

04:00middle of his junior season.

04:01So we're several months off from him making a decision.

04:04As of today, though, Notre Dame is not in that upper echelon of group.

04:08Now, they have several months to make up that ground.

04:10Maybe you get him on campus.

04:12Maybe CJ Carr, Kenny Minchie are airing the ball out all over the place.

04:15And potentially Peyton Houston might want to come and be a part of that.

04:18But right now, he's a little bit of a wait-and-see type of player.

04:22The other guy who I think Notre Dame is in a much better spot with today is Kennesaw,

04:27Georgia, North Cobb quarterback, Teddy Girard.

04:30Now, Teddy Girard is much more the prototype, 6'3", 200 pounds, good frame.

04:35He'll be 6'3", 215, 220 before too long.

04:38This kid has good pocket presence to him.

04:40It's a really accurate thrower.

04:42And I really do love the overall just mechanics and feel as a passer.

04:46And he has good enough athleticism.

04:48He's not an athlete like Peyton Houston, where he's going to run for 600 plus yards like

04:51Peyton Houston did as a sophomore in high school.

04:53But this is an extender, a guy that can throw in the run.

04:56I like a lot of what I've seen from Girard.

04:58He was actually at that quarterback event, the five-star for rivals, with Peyton Houston.

05:04And Girard was the one that won MVP, which I found very interesting.

05:08Now, this offseason, he's been blown up.

05:09He's got Georgia.

05:10He's got Ohio State.

05:11He's got Michigan.

05:12A source has told me that right now, he thinks that there's a top group, potentially

05:16with Notre Dame in it, of Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Georgia.

05:19Now, that's very interesting because, one, Georgia's the home state team.

05:23We'll see what happens there.

05:24Ohio State, though, has a quarterback commit in the 2027 class, and Brady Edmonds, a player

05:29that has been on campus at Notre Dame, actually, in the past as well.

05:32Now, that being said, we've seen a couple 2027 quarterback offers for Ohio State going

05:37out.

05:37So, is that some unsettlement with maybe if Brady Edmonds is going to end up in the class

05:43long-term?

05:44Does Ohio State want to continue to look at options if they choose that there is a better

05:47one out there?

05:47I don't know what that 100% means.

05:50But all I know is that Notre Dame is trending in a good direction with Teddy Gerrard.

05:54Now, if Payne Houston does go off the board and it becomes just Gerrard on the board, you

05:58probably do want to, you know, open that up a little bit, maybe get another guy or two

06:02potentially on the quarterback target board.

06:04But overall, I'm very happy with the two players that are on the board.

06:07But I want to hear from you guys.

06:09If you've had the chance to watch some huddle highlights, watch the Nike camp, whatever

06:12it is, Gerrard Houston.

06:14Put some comments in the chat.

06:16Want to hear in the comment section just your early thoughts on the players.

06:19If there's one that you prefer as of now, if there isn't a player that hasn't been offered

06:23yet out of those two, is there a player that you do want Notre Dame to offer at some point?

06:28Now, while you're doing that, make sure you hit that like button and subscribe on your

06:31way out.

06:31And as always, go Irish.

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