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Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame’s search for a quarterback in its 2028 recruiting class suddenly fell apart. Just last month, Bergen Catholic High School quarterback Trey Tagliaferri committed to the Fighting Irish. That commitment, however, lasted less than a week.

Per Hayes Fawcett of Rivals, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound signal-caller has decommitted from Notre Dame just six days after giving his public commitment, marking one of the shortest commitments in recent Notre Dame history.

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Described as an impressive pocket passer, Tagliaferri ranked as the No. 11 quarterback in the 2028 recruiting class, per Rivals, and the No. 19 prospect in the cycle, per 247Sports.

It’s the script the school has seen before. Notre Dame is looking to get an early quarterback commitment but has failed repeatedly lately. As Ryan Roberts of A to Z Sports reported, before Tagliaferri, the school wanted quarterback Kingston Preyear in its 2028 recruiting class. And to his credit, the signal-caller quietly committed to Notre Dame.

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At the same time, however, Preyear’s camp, especially his father, urged him to reconsider his options. Had he stayed at Notre Dame, the school would have addressed its quarterback recruiting needs very early. However, as Preyear’s commitment slowed down, the coaches changed their strategy.

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Instead of playing a waiting game, Freeman’s staff created a short list of quarterbacks to recruit after being hurt by uncertainty in previous recruitments, especially with Deuce Knight. Tagliaferri, meanwhile, became one of the leading players. But that’s no longer the case.

Meanwhile, Neimann Lawrence was another option, but he has already committed to the Texas Longhorns. The only quarterback who still holds a Notre Dame scholarship offer and hasn’t committed anywhere is Lukas Prock. However, he currently holds 39 offers, and his recruitment is going to be a long race.

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The decommitment leaves the Irish with just two players in their 2028 class: three-star safety Andre Jones and kicker Owen Davies. The only relief is that the Irish still have the commitment of QB Champ Monds in the 2027 cycle.

As for Tagliaferri, he is now linked to the Oklahoma Sooners.

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Trey Tagliaferri could commit to the Sooners

One of the major reasons Trey Tagliaferri has decommitted from Notre Dame has been his reported interest in the Sooners. Per reports, the signal-caller had liked Oklahoma from the beginning. However, considering the Sooners weren’t aggressively recruiting him, he committed to Notre Dame.

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But once Tagliaferri committed to Notre Dame, however, Oklahoma became much more interested. The school pushed for Tagliaferri even after his early commitment to the Fighting Irish. For now, it’s still unclear whether Tagliaferri will eventually announce his public interest in the Sooners.

But Rivals vice president of recruiting and transfer portal Steve Wiltfong and Notre Dame recruiting insider Mike Singer are both convinced that the Sooners could be Tagliaferri’s next destination in its 2028 recruiting class. Rivals give the Sooners a 93.3% chance of landing the QB. And the fact that Oklahoma hosted Tagliaferri on campus and the quarterback managed to impress them only reinforces that belief.

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Keshav Pareek

2,300 Articles

Keshav Pareek is a Senior NFL Features Writer at EssentiallySports, where he has covered two action-packed football seasons. He also contributes to the ES Behind the Scenes series, spotlighting the lives of top NFL stars off the field. Keshav is known for weaving humor into serious sports writing and connecting with readers by tapping into the emotional heart of the game. He’s particularly fascinated by the NFL Draft’s “Green Room” drama and remains puzzled by Shedeur Sanders’ unexpected draft slide, an outcome he calls downright baffling. With a fresh wave of breakout talent on the horizon, Keshav is primed for another thrilling season. A lifelong NFL fan, Keshav closely follows quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes, drawing inspiration from their leadership and playmaking ability in his coverage. He brings a mix of sharp analysis and narrative storytelling to every story, providing readers with a compelling view of the league both on and off the field.

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