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

Top quarterback prospect Neimann Lawrence will announce his college choice later this month, and it continues to look less likely for Notre Dame
Head coach Marcus Freeman during Notre Dame football's Pro Day at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in South Bend.
Head coach Marcus Freeman during Notre Dame football's Pro Day at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.