The early signing period is this Wednesday, which means Notre Dame football is set to put the finishing touches on their 2025 recruiting class. There are no major surprises on the horizon, so the class as it sits is the one we will be celebrating this week. It once appeared on the cusp of being elite, but is still a good class overall.

There are several extremely underrated recruits in the class. That includes three that stand above the others in terms of being undervalued. Those players have a chance to surprise many on the next level, and become very important parts of the Notre Dame future.

QB Blake Hebert – Greenwich (Conn.) Brunswick School

Originally a Clemson commit, Hebert was a quick and decisive flip the Irish managed after the Deuce Knight debacle raged on for months. If you flash back to prior to their junior seasons, Hebert was actually ranked ahead of Knight by almost every recruiting platform. An injury his junior season really hurt Hebert’s ranking.

He is now pegged as the No. 395 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite ranking. That is a disrespectful ranking for a quarterback who possesses good size at 6-3 and 215 pounds, on top of a strong arm and good overall athleticism.

If developed properly, Hebert has the talent to surprise many on the college level.

EDGE Dominik Hulak – Elmhurst (Ill.) Immaculate Conception

Hulak is the victim of being the most talented player on his team, and they decide to ask him to do a lot of things because of it. You will see him playing linebacker at times, rushing off the edge, playing in space, and even playing tight end on offense.

Because of that, he has been underdeveloped as a pure pass rusher, which is probably the big reason he is only ranked as a three-star and the No. 479 overall player on the Composite ranking. The tools are there to be an excellent player on the next level, possessing a great frame at 6-4 and 240 pounds, as well as burst and flexibility.

At Irish Invasion, Hulak ran a 4.64-second forty-yard dash, as well as vertical jumping 34 inches. He’s an explosive athlete with developmental upside.

CB Cree Thomas – Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy Prep

The last time Notre Dame got a defensive back from Brophy Prep, it turned out pretty well. With the success that Benjamin Morrison has had in the blue and gold, you would think that people might be a little more excited about adding a player like Thomas.

Instead, he has become extremely underrated from a recruiting rankings perspective, ranked as a three-star on the Composite ranking. According to the Composite, Thomas is pegged as the No. 40 cornerback and No. 473 overall team in the 2025 class.

That ranking doesn’t make much sense, with Thomas possessing the body type and athleticism to play either cornerback or safety on the next level. Thomas just has a knack for making big plays.