College Football Powerhouse Emerges as Major Threat to Flip 4-Star QB Commit

All is fair in love, war, and college football recruiting. One of the top QB commits in the nation is still drawing significant attention from a bevy of programs. The fact of his commitment is certainly not stopping plenty of top schools from trying to poach the talented passer.

4-star QB recruit Kamden Lopati is the No. 115 player in the nation and the No. 10 QB recruit in the recent Rivals300. He's the third highest-rated QB from the 2027 who has already made a commitment, which he made to Illinois in July.

Could Lopati make a flip?

But on a recent Rivals podcast, recruiting analysts Josh Newberg and Steve WIltfong broke down a host of other programs that are still making a significant push to flip Lopati's commitment.

The top flip candidates

Wiltfong noted that Lopati is set to visit Duke this weekend, and will take in the Duke/North Carolina basketball game. "There'll be a lot of juice on the Durham campus," said Wiltfong. But he went on to note "Notre Dame, in my opinion, is the biggest threat." Lopati will visit the Irish at the end of March.

Lopati has previously visited Notre Dame, but he's also planning to visit Michigan, where Wiltfong notes "he's got a great rapport with this Michigan coaching staff." Lopati previously took a visit to California as well.

Illinois will host Lopati on an official visit in April, but Wiltfong stated, "I think it's going to be tough for Illinois to keep him locked in."

Lopati has been attending school in Utah and has established himself as one of the top pocket passers in the 2027 class. At 6'3" and 215 pounds, Lopati is in a developing frame, but has already passed for over 5,600 yards in his sophomore and junior seasons of high school football.

Lopati has made several unofficial visits to Illinois and could be the heir apparent for the QB position under coach Bret Bielema. A season ago, Illinois won nine games with Luke Altmyer at the helm. The senior passed for 3,007 yards and 22 touchdowns. Transfer Katin Houser is the likely starter at MSU in 2026, but Lopati could see the field quickly if he does indeed stick with the Illini.

Lopati has avoided most of the traditional powers nationally, but Notre Dame and Michigan remain the exceptions. Marcus Freeman's Irish made a nice 2024 College Football Playoff run and just missed the 2025 field. Of course, Michigan won the national title two seasons ago. The other programs on Lopati's list fit in the up-and-coming classification. But his recruiting battle could go down to the Early Signing Day period in November.