Coach | 2026 Notre Dame QB Target Brady Hart Separates Himself From Most

Brady Hart‍ was a baseball kid. His father was, Alex, was an All-American pitcher for the Florida Gators.

But Hart had a passion for playing quarterback.

After one session with Baylin Trujillo, the Florida-based quarterback trainer told Hart that he had potential to play quarterback at an extremely high level if he focused solely on football. 

Hart began working with Trujillo three to four times each week, with a 90-minute drive proving just how serious he was.

“We just kept building and building and building,” Trujillo says, acknowledging coaching him hard at points along the way with the encouragement of Hart’s father.

“It was all in, and he just bought in for real.”

Hart’s transfer from Melbourne High School to Cocoa High School before his sophomore season represented another key point in his growth, according to Trujillo.

“From that point on, he was just working his butt off and he just became an elite player,” says Trujillo, who also trains Noah Grubbs‍, Dereon Coleman, Michael Clayton, Ely Hamrick and Emmanuel Carter.

“These are my top guys in the ‘26 class,” Trujillo says. “What separates Hart is his ability to run the ball. He runs a legit 4.7 40 at 6-4, 180 pounds. He can make all the throws. He's got a big time arm, he's got a quick release, and now he has the ability to run, which a lot of coaches are intrigued by, especially when you're 6-4. Not a lot of people are doing that. 

“Then on top of that, Cocoa had the hardest schedule in the state of Florida and in the toughest games in the season, he performed at his best. St. Thomas Aquinas is a loaded powerhouse. That was his third ever game as a starter and he threw 500 yards, five touchdowns against arguably one of the best teams in the country. He beat Jones High School his first game, and that's their powerhouse. Second game, he beat Venice and then he goes out there and should have beaten St. Thomas Aquinas. 

“That honestly separates himself from pretty much all the people in that class because of the experience he had this past year at Cocoa as a sophomore playing the toughest competition in the entire state. And on top of that, winning the state title back to back for Cocoa. He checks off every single box. He's already accomplished the highest accomplishment as a high school athlete, winning a state title this year. He threw 41 touchdowns, 4,000 yards, and he runs a 4.7 40. You check off all these boxes, he's going to be a Power Five kid.”

Notre Dame certainly agrees. The Irish joined his offer list back in December.

“Oh man, he was excited,” Trujillo says. “There are tiers to this. I even told Noah and I told all my elite guys, there are tiers to offers. Obviously you're an in-state quarterback, so you want your Floridas, your Miamis, your Florida States. Those are cool. But when you talk about elite programs, we're talking about guys that don't really get recruited over here by those prestigious colleges like Notre Dame, like USC, like Michigan, like Ohio State, Oregon. You're talking about prestigious programs with history behind offers. 

“It's such an honor to get it…It's so exciting, especially as a trainer, just to see it all unfold.”

Through Hart and Grubbs, who also has an offer from the Irish, Trujillo has built a strong relationship with Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli.

“Man, he is one of the most laid back dudes you'll ever meet,” Trujillo says of Guidugli. “If you listen to him talk, you're like, 'Wow, I can hang with this guy.' He's not your average everyday quarterback coach, robot politician. He's very laid back, chill, will show up on your campus in a T-shirt and a ball cap, just talk football. He's just so chill. 

“If you ever get the opportunity to just to talk to him, it's almost like talking to your best friend in a way. He's just such a cool, genuine, laid back dude. It's just funny to hear it because most coaches don't talk like he does, and especially at a place like Notre Dame. I think that's so cool. I think just his personality really sticks out.”

Grubbs has already been to Notre Dame twice - once for a camp and once for a game. Trujillo says Hart will “for sure” get to South Bend.

“We're going to go again in the spring,” he says. “We're going to go to at least one camp just to see the campus. He's never been there. Obviously, I brag about it all the time. Honestly, it's the best campus I've ever been on. I don't care. I've been on a lot of campus tours this past season with Noah and got to travel. I've been doing this for 10 years now with other recruits. Notre Dame has got to be the number one place I've ever stepped foot on. It's just the cleanliness of the school, the building structures, the whole nine yards. It's a whole different ball game. 

“So saying that to Brady, he's all excited. We're going to definitely get up there in the spring, and then we'll probably end up going there in the summer again, and then definitely going to be there in the fall for a game or two. They're already the top program for both Noah and Brady right now. They're definitely top five, top three, maybe even number one for one of these guys. Notre Dame's definitely the top tier, the top position for both these guys.”

Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Lace Up 3.0 Pullover Hoodie