4-star Notre Dame QB Deuce Knight flips commitment to Hugh Freeze's Auburn: Reports 

By Maliha

Modified Oct 03, 2024 06:02 GMT

Follow Us

Share

0 Discuss

The month-long discussions regarding four-star quarterback Deuce Knight's flip from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the Auburn Tigers came to an end on Wednesday, after he committed to Hugh Freeze's program. The signal-caller had been a verbal commit to the Fighting Irish since last year.

Knight's decision to join Auburn has been on the horizon for some time. Over the past few months, he made multiple visits to the Tigers, including attending Big Cat Weekend. He was present for Auburn's season opener against Alabama A&M and participated in four of the Tigers' first five home games this season.

Knight was seen hanging with Auburn commits, including running back Alvin Henderson and linebacker JaMichael Garrett, during the Tigers' game against Oklahoma last weekend. Ahead of the matchup, Auburn's five-star edge rusher commit Jared Smith boldly announced Knight's potential flip to the Tigers (via 247 Sports' Tom Loy):

"I have Deuce Knight as a lock to Auburn."

Henderson has also been repeatedly sparking this flip rumor, posting multiple cryptic posts on X/Twitter before the flip news came.

For Notre Dame, losing Knight is a serious blow, as he was the highest-ranked commit of the 2025 class. Knight visited the Irish 10 times and was a vocal recruiter for it, but he never shut down his recruitment.

“Like I’ve said, at the end of the day, I feel like it’s business, so I don’t want to shut anything down," Knight told On3. "But I’m going to Notre Dame, though."

Knight is the fifth player to decommit from Notre Dame in the 2025 class, joining Nate Roberts, C.J. May, Shaun Terry and Ivan Taylor. With his decommitment, the school sits with 22 committed players in the 2025 class, ranking No. 13 in the nation.

Four-star offensive tackle Will Black is now the highest-rated prospect in the cycle, along with other blue-chip prospects like cornerback Dallas Golden, safety JaDon Blair and edge rusher Christopher Burgess.

Deuce Knight opens up about his decision to flip to Auburn

Multiple schools have tried to flip Deuce Knight from Notre Dame since last year, including Alabama and Ole Miss, but Auburn ultimately emerged as the winner. Kenyatta Watson, the Tigers' director of recruiting research and strategy, played a big role here, while Hugh Freeze also did everything possible to make him feel like a priority (via Auburn Live):

“Coach Freeze, he thinks we can both do some special things with the offense,” Knight said. “We are both Mississippi boys. He says to come over to Alabama and take over college football.”

A big factor in Knight’s decision was also his admiration for former Auburn star Cam Newton, his favorite player growing up. Newton’s success in leading Auburn to a national title has inspired Knight.

Freeze's track record with quarterbacks, such as Malik Willis, a third-round NFL draft pick in 2022, was another influential factor. Freeze expressed his belief that he could help Knight replicate that success.

"Any quarterback he's had has put up crazy numbers," Knight told Rivals. "That's what he's preached to me. The guys they brought in the 2024 class – he wants me to come in and throw to those guys."

With Deuce Knight's commitment, Auburn has got a quarterback in its 2025 class, which ranks No. 4 in the nation with 25 committed players.