Elite 2029 QB Ryder Flugence Ready For First Look At Notre Dame

Ryder Flugence‍ is considered by many to be the top quarterback in the country for the Class of 2029 and he already holds 18 offers.

Notre Dame is not one of them...at least not yet.

Still, the 6-foot-6, 210-pound Texan wants a closer look at the Irish, which is why he'll be in South Bend for the Irish’s showdown against Miami on Saturday night. 

In fact, Flugence is the one who got this weekend's visit rolling. Communication between the two sides has been limited so far, but when the Boerne Champion High School quarterback reached out to express his interest, Notre Dame responded with a game invitation and interest of its own.

Now he gets to see the place in person on the biggest recruiting weekend of Notre Dame's year.

"Just to go up there and see the atmosphere," Flugence told Irish Sports Daily of his goals for the weekend. 

"I think it's going to be a great game and I'm excited to see Notre Dame play. Being able to see them online is great, but in person is definitely different. I'm excited to just meet with the coaches."

Flugence's offer sheet shows how early his recruitment started and how national it is already. His first offer arrived in March and the list has since grown to more than a dozen, with Michigan the most recent. Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Florida State, Auburn, SMU and TCU are among the others already on it.

For all the attention, Flugence understands the math of it.

"It's great," he said. "I think being able to get that type of recognition and that type of notoriety around the country is amazing. I'm truly blessed and grateful that the Lord blessed me with all these great feelings. 

"At the same time, you can only commit to one place. So these offers are great, but you only go to one place."

Asked what coaches see in him and the answer is about more than his ability to throw the ball, though that’s a big part of it.

"I think that they like my ability to extend plays and be that kind of multi-talented and dual threat aspect," Flugence said. "I don't think a play's ever done with me. I think I can extend plays and make the plays I need to make to get my team to win. 

"I believe that I truly can make any throw I need to make and use my abilities to get me out of certain situations with my ability to throw off-platform."

On Saturday night, he’ll be watching how CJ Carr runs the Notre Dame offense and how much freedom comes with the job.

"Just to see how the quarterback operates his offense, see if they give him the keys to the offense and just how the trust goes for that," he said.

Flugence has plenty of time before he needs to start narrowing schools, let alone choosing one, but he already knows what will drive it when the time comes.

"First of all, just relationships with the coaching staff and see how they treat their players, how they go about their business. Schooling is very important for me. At the end of the day I'll play my last snap in football, so I’ll need to be ready with school to take a job after college. 

"And just scheme offense, see if that fits me in my play style. And then again, these coaches, see if they’re some people who will help me reach my full potential."

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