Sports

Notre Dame Seemingly Knows its Out on Big Time 2028 QB Prospect

By Nick Shepkowski Sports Illustrated

Notre Dame has done a tremendous job upgrading the quarterback position in recent years, and is working on finding its signal caller for the 2028 recruiting class.

One of the top quarterback prospects available, Neimann Lawrence of Plantation (American Heritage), Florida, announced this week that he'll make his college commitment later this month.

While its good news that Notre Dame is listed among his finalists and that it will get a resolution as to where it stands, the bad news is that all signs point to the Irish falling short in landing his talents.

Steve Wiltfong of Rivals made a crystal ball prediction on Thursday for Lawrence to end up at Texas, and as we've discussed here several times, when Wiltfong predicts it, it's got about a 97% chance of becoming true.

So what is Notre Dame to do in terms of recruiting a quarterback in the 2028 cycle?

Notre Dame Offers 2028 Quarterback from Pipeline High School Program

Notre Dame doesn't appear to be waiting for Lawrence's decision to be made official and instead is looking elsewhere for a class of 2028 quarterback.

The Fighting Irish continued that quest Wednesday night when they extended a scholarship offer to Trey Tagliaferri of Oradell (Bergen Catholic), New Jersey.



If the name of the program sounds familiar, that's because it's the same high school that produced Notre Dame folk lore hero Steve Angeli a few short years ago.

Tagliaferri is rated as a four-star prospect according to the 247Sports composite rankings, and as the 14th overall quarterback in the 2028 recruiting cycle.

He stands 6-1, checks in at 190 pounds, and has scholarship offers listed from over 30 programs total, including Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas A&M, and more.

Notre Dame Quarterback Possibilities in 2028 Class

Notre Dame is up to eight quarterbacks it has offered in the 2028 class after the news of Tagliaferri came out.



They're as follows (ranking is positional in '28 class according to 247Sports):

Kingston Preyear, Alexander City (Benjamin Russell), Alabama, 5th

Niemann Lawrence, Plantation (American Heritage), Florida, 6th

Lukas Prock, Princeton (Hun School), New Jersey, 7th

Trey Tagliaferri, Oradell (Bergen Catholic, New Jersey, 14th

Matthew Lee, Wilmette (Loyola Academy), Illinois, 24th

Brady Quinn, Hollywood (Chaminade-Madonna), Florida, 36th

JJ Chapman, Oak Creek, Wisconsin, 49th

Luke Toland, Jacksonville (The Bolles School), Florida, Unranked

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

I'd be lying if I said I was overly inspired by that list, but that's solely based off the recruiting rankings next to each player's name, not me dicing through all the tape on each of them.

Obviously, if you can get it, you take the player you think is going to be the best college quarterback that fits your offense.



However, in the world of NIL where funds need to be spread throughout, does Notre Dame take a step back at what they put down for a quarterback in 2028 because of having Wonder Monds IV in the 2027 class, after he reclassified and essentially moved up a grade?

I'm not suggesting it, but in this era where how you spend your money is just as important as how much money you spend, it's worth considering.



This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/notredame as Notre Dame Seemingly Knows its Out on Big Time 2028 QB Prospect.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 12:26 PM.

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