Former Elite Notre Dame Commit Enters Transfer Portal

There was a time not all that long ago that the future of Notre Dame at quarterback could be stated in two words.

Deuce Knight.

Knight was of course a five-star recruit from Mississippi, and announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish the week of the Ohio State game back in 2023.

He did and said all the right things for months until he suddenly decided to take a visit to Auburn in the late summer of 2024.

From then on Notre Dame was seemingly playing catchup, and Knight ultimately flipped his commitment to the Tigers last fall.

Now, just one season into his college career, Knight is on the move again.

Deuce Knight Enters Transfer Portal from Auburn

BREAKING: Auburn true freshman QB Deuce Knight is entering the @TransferPortal, sources tell @On3Sports

In his starting debut against Mercer, Knight totaled over 600 yards and 6 TDs

Was ranked as a 5-Star Recruit in the 2025 Class (per On3)https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/d0yeMKBtd8
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 30, 2025

After just one fall at Auburn, news that Knight is entering the transfer portal came down on Tuesday evening. Knight played in two games at Auburn, completing 17 of 25 pass attempts for 259 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 178 yards and four more scores.

The former five-star recruit will have four years of eligibility remaining wherever he chooses to continue his college career.

It may have only been roughly 15 months since Knight flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn, but it feels more like a lifetime ago when it comes to the state of the quarterback position at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Has Skyrocketed at Quarterback

It's important to remember that when Notre Dame was in the process of landing the commitment of Deuce Knight, it was coming off a frustrating run at quarterback.

Knight committed early in the 2023 season, one year after Notre Dame had to call upon Drew Pyne for the majority of the year. Sure, Sam Hartman was a step up from that in 2023, but it wasn't like Hartman was lighting up draft boards by any means.

Knight committed in the class after CJ Carr. Carr brought much hype along with him to Notre Dame, but for the simple fact that Knight was a five-star and Carr was largely seen as a high-four, plenty of people made their thoughts about boths futures based solely off that.

Fast forward to the end of the 2025 season and Notre Dame will enter next year with one of the very best returning starting quarterbacks in all of college football. Factor in that the Irish have continued to recruit the position at an extremely high level even in the wake of Knight's departure from the 2025 recruiting class, and you can see just how quickly things have changed for the better at the position for Notre Dame, even without Knight's talent.

And before you ask, no, Notre Dame shouldn't make any pursuit whatsoever of Knight in the transfer portal, but I'm guessing you had already figured that out.