2025 QB Commit Deuce Knight Returning To Notre Dame...Again
Recruiting certainly didn’t stop for Deuce Knight when the elite 2025 quarterback announced his commitment to Notre Dame in September.
Instead, his perspective just changed as he went from top Irish target to a deputy recruiting coordinator of sorts.
The Mississippi native has been a fixture at Notre Dame home games all fall and will be back again for this weekend’s home finale.
“It's just really just getting back at the crib and helping recruit,” Knight said of his repeated visits.
“We're trying to have the best class in the country, so being able to build bonds with your future teammates so we can come in and get things started off right.”
Virtually every top prospect mentions Knight as a recruiter alongside Marcus Freeman’s coaching staff.
Knight explains his pitch to top targets.
“I just really tell those guys, 'If you can't see what Coach Freeman is building at Notre Dame, then you've got to blind or something,’” Knight says. “I feel like to get to the level of where you want to get and to live the life you want to live. I feel like there’s no place better than Notre Dame.
“I tell those guys, 'Notre Dame, they can turn you into a first round draft pick, but there are a lot more things bigger than football, just life in general.' It's proven that if you go to Notre Dame, you're going to probably be more successful in life. And then there's a lot of other things like faith, they teach you about all of that type of stuff.'”
Knight has become tight with several prospects in addition to some he was already close friends with like current Irish defensive line commit CJ May.
“Jerome Bettis Jr., that's like one of my best friends now,” Knight says of the 2025 Georgia receiver. “Every time I've been up in Notre Dame, he's been there, so we just keep talking. We talk over social media and everything. That's one of my best friends, we text and Snap every day.
“Ethan Long, he's another guy that I got real cool with. We are texting on social media a lot too. Those two are probably the best bonds I've built. But I stay hitting a lot of guys up just trying to get them to come here.
“Marco Jones, that's another one of the guys that I've already known because we played on the same 7-on-7 team, Team Pressure. So that's another guy that's one of my friends, so I've got to get him over there.”
In addition to Bettis Jr., Knight has his eyes on a couple other potential pass-catchers.
“I want to flip Jaime Ffrench from Bama,” he says. “I've been texting him just trying to see when we can make a visit work for him. Derek Meadows, we've got to get him. He's 6-5 and super athletic.”
Knight also likes return to Notre Dame simply because he likes Notre Dame.
“Whenever I'm up there, it's a special place,” he says. “Anytime I see that ND logo, I just feel like it reaffirms everything, why I committed to Notre Dame. Anytime I get around to coaches, I really love talking to those guys, they just keep you up. They're really smart guys. It's always good anytime I can talk to those guys like Coach Gino (Guidugli) and talk ball.”
Knight is expecting big things from the Irish offense after a disappointing performance against Clemson.
“I fully believe we're going to get it down these next couple weeks,” he says. “I think we're going to get back on track and start scoring a lot of points.”
And he’s excited about getting his chance to run the Irish offense one day.
“Coach (Gerad) Parker and Coach Gino, they constantly put it in my head, 'We're going to tailor the offense to everything you do best.' So when I get up there, I know they're going to do a lot of things that I do best.”
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