Notre Dame landed the commitment of a new Class of 2025 quarterback recruit when Blake Hebert announced Monday that he is transferring to the Irish from Clemson. The move comes 12 days after Notre Dame lost highly touted quarterback Deuce Knight to Auburn.

Hebert, listed at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, plays at Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut. He is a four-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite, ranked No. 400 overall and No. 29 among quarterbacks. Knight is a five-star prospect and is considered the fifth-best quarterback.

HERE COME THE IRISH!☘️ #THINKBIG #committed pic.twitter.com/5opM3wSbt9

– Blake Hebert (@BlakeHeberttt) October 14, 2024

Thanks to Hebert's commitment, Notre Dame's 23-member Class of 2025 is ranked 13th nationally. Clemson is down to 13 commitments and no quarterback.

How Hebert fits in at Notre Dame

Hebert doesn't exactly replace Knight, at least not in terms of raw skill. Knight was considered one of the top five quarterbacks nationally with undeniable athleticism. Hebert is a top-30 prospect at the position with adequate size and athleticism compared to top prospects. But Clemson is Clemson, and Notre Dame simply took a prospect away from another College Football Playoff contender instead of entering the sports food chain to find a solution.

The importance of signing Hebert may not become clear until next spring, when the quarterback depth chart could flip. Riley Leonard will be gone and CJ Carr is expected to replace him as QB1. Where are Steve Angeli and Kenny Minchey? Possibly an outsider looking in as Angeli's eligibility slowly expires. Minchey is more of a wild card, but falling behind a younger quarterback usually means an exit.

Notre Dame could get creative by moving Tyler Buchner back to the quarterback room for more depth and perhaps keeping Hebert as the third player in a scenario where the position is hit by an exodus. Either way, Hebert is helping Notre Dame manage the numbers in a situation where falling short can wipe out an entire season. Knight would have been ideal, but whoever the Irish won this cycle would have to wait for his shot. Perhaps Hebert is better equipped to deal with this reality. – Pete Sampson, Notre Dame Beat writer

What does the loss of Hebert mean for Clemson?

Although Hebert is not a headliner in the 2025 class, Clemson is still in a precarious position as the early signing period approaches. The Tigers didn't add a quarterback in the 2024 class and thought they were ready to take over the position for 2025 when Hebert committed in June 2023. It will be fascinating to see where Dabo Swinney goes from here. Clemson has the national brand of turning in someone committed to a smaller school. We've also seen quarterbacks reclassified lately, and Clemson 2026 commit Tait Reynolds is a four-star prospect.

The Tigers have signed four-star Christopher Vizzina in the 2023 class as the presumed successor to Cade Klubnik, and it stands to reason that Klubnik will be back for the 2025 season. But the Tigers will want another quarterback on the roster for numbers reasons. There’s also… the transfer portal. Swinney has yet to make a significant transfer from the portal. Could that change? — Grace Raynor, national recruiting author

Required reading

(Photo: Matt Cashore / Imagn Images)