Notre Dame football is riding a ton of recruiting momentum right now, including gaining two new commitments on Monday from 2027 Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas wide receiver Julius Jones Jr. and his little brother, 2028 safety Andre Jones. The Fighting Irish are coming off a great official visitor weekend. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish are expecting a ton more good news moving forward.

One player to keep a close eye on right now is 2028 Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic quarterback Trey Tagliaferri, who also took an unofficial visit to South Bend this past weekend. After some early momentum with Alexander City (AL) Benjamin Russell quarterback Kingston Preyear and Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage star Neimann Lawrence, things seem to have shifted with the 2028 quarterback recruiting. Tagliaferri has quickly become the most likely signal caller for the Fighting Irish to land.

After taking multiple trips to South Bend this offseason, things are trending incredibly quickly with the New Jersey native. While Princeton (NJ) Hun School standout Lukas Prock is certainly worth keeping a close eye on for Notre Dame, he doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to decision making mode. Tagliaferri hasn’t put out a firm decision timeline, but most believe that we are getting close.

With how Notre Dame has recruited the quarterback position over the last several years, the Irish staff has earned all the confidence and benefit of the doubt. Landing the likes of Kenny Minchey, CJ Carr, Blake Hebert, Teddy Jarrard, Noah Grubbs, and Champ Monds over the last five years is tremendous. While Tagliaferri doesn’t bring the same type of natural tools as that group does as a whole, there is clearly something that the Irish staff likes a lot.

It will be interesting to see if Notre Dame does make the strong push that many believe is coming. They have certainly put themselves in a great spot with the New Jersey standout. With a huge junior season on the horizon, we will soon have a better idea for just how good Tagliaferri is going to become.

Trey Tagliaferri’s recruiting background 

Tagliaferri is considered to be either a three or four-star player, depending on which of the major recruiting platforms you look at. On the 247 Sports Composite ranking, Tagliaferri is currently ranked as a four-star, the No. 204 overall player, the No. 14 quarterback, and the No. 9 player from the state of New Jersey for the 2028 recruiting class. Rivals rate him as the No. 110 overall player in the country. 

There is a long list of impressive programs that are already pursuing Tagliaferri. Some of his top offers include the Fighting Irish, Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State, Texas A&M, Indiana, Auburn, Iowa, Missouri, South Carolina, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Illinois, Arkansas, Maryland, Mississippi State, UNC, Virginia, Boston College, Stanford, Wake Forest, Syracuse, and Rutgers, among others. 

As a sophomore in 2025, Tagliaferri put together a tremendous season for Bergen Catholic. The 6-1, 190-pound passer threw for 2,215 yards and 29 touchdowns in 11 games. Tagliaferri also added another score on the ground, while only throwing three interceptions on the season.