After months of delay, the inevitable finally took place with Deuce Knight flipping his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn. Although it was a generally unsurprising move, Notre Dame fans still wondered if Marcus Freeman would be able to salvage the 2025 recruiting class as far as signal callers were concerned. There were some rumblings as to who ND would try to turn their attention to, and it did not take too long to find out. A little less than two weeks after losing Knight, Notre Dame announced the addition of four star Quarterback Blake Hebert, who the staff were able to flip from Clemson. The 6'3" Greenwich, Connecticut product is widely regarded as a top 10 dual threat QB in the 2025 recruiting class, and his film matches his hype. After evaluation, here are some things that stood out. As always, the criteria for evaluation will be graded on a scale of 1 (Poor) to 7 (Elite).
Photo via Blake Hebert, Instagram (@blakehebert12)
Athletic Ability: Very Good (6)
The days of having a complete statue under center are all but extinct. The quarterback position will always come to down to arm talent first and foremost, but in today's world of college football, the ability to extend plays with your legs is more than just an added bonus - it's a necessity. Hebert can do much more than just extend plays, as he displays very good acceleration and straight line speed in the open field, and is a legitimate threat on QB designed runs. He keeps his eyes downfield when he breaks the pocket, but knows when to tuck it and run after a play breaks down. His status as a dual threat passer is definitely warranted.
Accuracy: Very Good (6)
Accuracy may be my favorite part of Hebert's game as of now. Shows tremendous touch, especially the further down the field the pass travels. Has an uncanny ability to drop the ball where the receiver never has to break stride, and consistently gives wideouts the chance at YAC. Can layer the ball very nicely, getting it over second level defenders without leading WRs into big hits by safeties, and knows when to work the back shoulder. Every throw seems to be with purpose, protecting his WRs with excellent ball placement over and over again.
Arm Strength: Very Good (6)
The very first pass attempt of Hebert's I watched definitely made me rewind three or four times. It only traveled about forty yards in the air, which is good but not eye popping by any means. The part that made me keep going back was the fact that it traveled like that with just a flick of the wrist. Facing backside pressure, he never really was able to step into the throw, but dropped an absolute dime over the shoulder of his WR downfield effortlessly. Further into his film, he was dropping bombs from over fifty yards when he had a clean pocket, and I have no doubt with arm development at the next level he can easily get it downfield from 60+. Arm strength did not just show up on his film with vertical shots, he also showed he can throw darts to the sideline from the opposite hash, meaning defenders have to worry about covering every inch of turf when he is on the field which is a huge advantage.
Mental Processing: Elite (7)
Being able to get through multiple reads at the high school level is not as common as you would think. A lot of times quarterbacks are basically told where to go with the ball regardless of coverage. In Hebert's case, I saw him work through different progressions and consistently make the right decision on where to go with the ball based off how the defense was playing on the back end. He also throws with top tier anticipation, getting the ball out before the WR makes his break leaving the defensive back no real time to react, which reflects a high football IQ and superb understanding of the game.
If you were to ask one hundred Notre Dame fans how they feel the transfer portal has worked out as far as quarterback play, I am sure you would get plenty of varying answers. One thing is undeniable though - to be a consistent contender in the new college football landscape, you have to be able to recruit the high school ranks well, and no position is more important to a program than the quarterback. Blake Hebert would be a much needed piece of the puzzle that is the Notre Dame's QB room, adding more talent from the high school level without having to go pluck an established a QB from another school come December or next spring.
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