Deuce Knight Flips to Auburn, Ugly Recruiting Trend Continues

Jack McMillen
Oct 2, 2024
2 min read

Highly-touted 2025 QB Deuce Knight has decommitted from the University of Notre Dame, and flipped to Auburn in a move that's been expected for the better part of a few months.

Photo via Deuce Knight

Since his commitment in September of last year, Deuce Knight had been the crown jewel of the 2025 recruiting class. He had been working hard to recruit elite talent to Notre Dame, and had become a fan-favorite recruit. Despite Knight's efforts, Notre Dame's offensive class didn't see a ton of traction, missing on three priority targets at the receiver position in the month of July. Around the beginning of August, rumblings began that Knight would likely visit Auburn for their "Big Cat" weekend, setting the stage for a lengthy battle for the Irish staff to keep him in the fold.

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Knight would take multiple visits to Auburn over the course of the early season, and the allure of playing in the SEC as a Mississippi native likely played a role in his decision to sever his ties to Notre Dame. Auburn's recruiting surge to end the summer saw the Tigers land multiple top recruits, and skyrocketed Auburn's class near the top of the recruiting rankings. Despite limited on field success, Hugh Freeze has seemingly sent an all-out blitz on the trail. Auburn's struggles at quarterback this season may also open a door for Knight to earn playing time earlier than he would have at Notre Dame, which may have also been a factor in this decision.

As for Notre Dame, well, this is less than ideal. A highly rated commit who had seemingly been all in has once again spurned the Irish. This has become an unwelcome trend for Notre Dame over the course of Marcus Freeman's tenure at Notre Dame, as the Irish will once again need to scramble in the latter stages of the recruiting cycle to procure another option. The Irish pattern of starting the cycle red hot, and then losing traction down the stretch has caused plenty of headaches for fans, and I'm sure for the staff as well. Notre Dame will need to find a way to make these kids stick, and the answer still eludes them.

Alongside Ivan Taylor, Notre Dame has now lost the pledge of their top two committed players in the class of 2025. The loss of Knight now leaves a thin offensive class even thinner. There is no indication at this time where Freeman and company will turn their attention, but as the writing has been on the wall for quite some time, I'm sure the staff has a plan moving forward. For now, it's another tough pill to swallow for Notre Dame.