Notre Dame football recruiting took a significant turn over the last 24 hours. 2028 Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic quarterback Trey Tagliaferri has departed the Fighting Irish commitment list after only six days as a public pledge, leaving head coach Marcus Freeman, quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli, and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock without a signal caller in the class. The Notre Dame coaching staff now faces a critical task: identifying and landing a new 2028 quarterback with the board thinning and top prospects slowly trickling off the market.

This is not an intel piece. This is purely my assessment of some talented quarterbacks still available, along with a few options that could remain on the table for the Fighting Irish. With the board where it is, there is a possibility that Notre Dame may need to expand its 2028 quarterback target list beyond the names they have already offered.

Let’s work through some of the top options.

Revisiting familiar names

The first thing I would do if I were Notre Dame is keep conversations going with Alexander City (Al.) Benjamin Russell star Kingston Preyear, a talented quarterback out of the state of Alabama who was previously silently committed to the Fighting Irish. Preyear is set to make his college commitment on July 10, and the expectation is that the Alabama Crimson Tide will be the pick.

Regardless of whether he makes that commitment, Notre Dame should keep the door open. There was clearly interest on both sides, but Preyear wanted to continue his process a bit longer. Can the Fighting Irish get back in good graces and potentially make a flip down the road? Who knows, but I would absolutely maintain that conversation.

The other uncommitted quarterback still on the board, assuming Tagliaferri opts for the Oklahoma Sooners soon and Preyear picks Alabama, is Lukas Prock out of the Hun School in Princeton, New Jersey.

Prock is one of only four quarterbacks Notre Dame has offered. If I were the Irish staff, I would have a quick conversation and see where things stand. Prock is a dual-threat quarterback who brings a lot of upside to the table. If there is any possibility of rekindling that relationship, it should be a top priority.

Expanding the board

If Notre Dame goes off the current board, the first player I would look at is Hunter Fujikawa, a quarterback out of Hawaii. He carries an elite offer list and is rated as a four-star and the No. 276 overall player on the 247Sports Composite ranking for the 2028 class. With 28 offers from programs including Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, Ole Miss, and Oregon, Fujikawa is being pursued by heavy hitters.

At 6-2 and 200 pounds, he is a dual-threat quarterback with a snappy delivery and tremendous upside for future development. Notre Dame has had success recruiting in Hawaii before, making this a natural connection worth exploring.

Out of the state of Pennsylvania, James Armstrong is another raw but intriguing developmental quarterback at 6-3 and 220 pounds. Armstrong committed to Penn State on Wednesday, but that should not deter Notre Dame from touching base.

Rated as the No. 169 overall player in the class per the 247Sports Composite ranking, Armstrong has high upside. The Irish have recruited well in Pennsylvania recently, and even with a Nittany Lions commitment in place, this is a player worth building a relationship with over time.

Mooresville (NC) Lake Norman quarterback Kaden Craft holds 20 offers and is one of the more well-liked quarterbacks in the 2028 class. At 6-4 and 210 pounds, Kraft functions best inside the pocket but has a modern feel as a passer who can move well enough to extend plays. He is not going to be a great runner at the next level, but as a modern pocket passer, I see a ton of upside.

Texas presents another option in Coppell (Texas) High School quarterback Carter Zingelmann, who holds 25 reported offers. A massive signal caller at 6-4.5 and 227 pounds, Zingelmann is not the most natural thrower on this list, but he has a strong deep arm and the physical athleticism to be involved in the quarterback run game. He is rated as the No. 64 overall player on the 247Sports individual ranking.

The final name I would keep an eye on is Littleton (Co.) Valor Christian quarterback Titus Huard. If Valor Christian sounds familiar, that is the high school of 2027 Notre Dame wide receiver commit Jackson Coleman. Huard is the son of former NFL quarterback Brock Huard, and his uncle Damon Huard also played in the NFL. Both the Huards and Titus’ brother Sam played at the University of Washington, though Sam did not work out with the Huskies. At 6-5 and 205 pounds, Huard is one of the better deep ball throwers in the 2028 class and brings enough juice to work the intermediate levels of the field.

Notre Dame has work to do, but the options are there. The next few weeks will reveal how aggressively Freeman and his staff attack this need.