Notre Dame football recruiting could be in big trouble down the stretch of the 2025 class

It has been an interesting few weeks for Notre Dame recruiting, who lost a commitment from elite 2025 safety Ivan Taylor, and are desperately hanging on to five-star signal caller Deuce Knight with increased attention from the SEC. There are several question marks that remain, and a lot of people who have plenty of skepticism for how the Irish will finish.

That includes ESPN national recruiting and college football reporter Eli Lederman, who released a recruiting article that listed several winners, losers and question marks with their 2025 class. The Irish were listed toward the bottom as a question mark, who unfortunately could end up as a loser.

Here is what Leferman had to say:

Notre Dame : Can the Irish hang onto Deuce Knight and land another linebacker?

Taylor's flip to Michigan was a blow and Notre Dame only added a pair of ESPN 300 commits with four-star safety JaDon Blair (No. 204 in the ESPN 300) and running back Justin Thurman (No. 300).

Still, Notre Dame is on track for another top-10 class with 10 ESPN commits. Of course, that could hinge on whether the Irish hold onto top commit Deuce Knight, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation. Auburn and Ole Miss are working hard to flip the four-star passer from Lucedale, Mississippi, and Knight's decision could swing the trajectory of Marcus Freeman's latest class.

Another key position Notre Dame continues to target is linebacker, where the Irish are still looking to fill a need with Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng and Madden Faraimo (No. 96 in the ESPN 300) among the top options on Notre Dame's radar.

"The pressure is on there and they feel a bit vulnerable," a Big Ten recruiting staffer from a program school that competes with Notre Dame in recruiting said. "I think if they can get into the playoff this year, that will help solve some of their problems."

On the surface, the analysis is very fair. Losing Ivan Taylor to Michigan was a terrible blow. Since then, the Irish have replaced his spot Indiana two-sport star Brandon Hogan. While he has some promise, he isn’t Taylor. It’s a loss no matter how someone wants to spin it.

The Knight situation is going to be very interesting as well. Until something changes, he is still a member of the Notre Dame class. Is there a good chance he eventually flips? Smart money would say so, but it also felt like it was already going to have happened. It didn’t, which means the Irish are still fighting.

If Notre Dame hits on the linebacker board, and flips a couple wide receivers late, this class could still be salvaged. A lot will depend on what happens with Knight, and what the finish around him ultimately does look like. It is, as Lederman says, a wait and see situation.

The one major disagreement with the Notre Dame analysis is with the anonymous Big Ten recruiting staffer. I wouldn’t say that the pressure is on Notre Dame and I certainly wouldn't call them “vulnerable”. If anything, I would say the pressure is on the programs competing with the Irish.

Head coach Marcus Freeman has established a new expectation when it comes to recruiting, and it isn’t a passive one. They aren’t backing down from the fights for big time players, which is great to see. With that ideology, you are going to lose some battles, but Notre Dame is showing that they are willing to fight those battles which the previous staff wasn’t.

The pressure is more on the rest of college football. If they let Notre Dame make a playoff run, which certainly looks like a high possibility right now, things are going to get easier for Coach Freeman and his staff on the trail. That’s the last thing the hierarchy of college football wants right now.