Notre Dame Recruiting: Irish battling Penn State for coveted QB

While the Notre Dame football program may have been late to the party in terms of offering Ohio standout quarterback Drew Allar, they certainly have rocketed up the list of potential schools. In fact, they are currently in a two-school battle with a Big Ten powerhouse, one who actually was the first to offer him for his services.

Steve Wiltfong of 247 Sports stated on his “Wiltfong Whiparound” on Tuesday that while the Penn State Nittany Lions are the favorite to land top-QB Drew Allar, there is some competition in South Bend. In fact, The Irish could be the one that keeps Allar from landing in Happy Valley.

"“I think one is clearly the one to beat as we record this right now, Penn State,” Wiltfong stated. “I love where Penn State stands. Who’s the hurdle for them? It’s Notre Dame.”"

The product of Medina High School in Ohio, Allar is a kid with tremendous arm talent and is coming off an outstanding season for the Battling Bees. In total, he threw for nearly 3,000 yards and had 26 touchdowns in three games during the 2020 campaign, cementing his spot as a top prospect in the 2022 recruiting cycle.

He had a visit in South Ben in February of 2020 and has had constant communication with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, and a commitment to the Notre Dame program is starting to look more and more like a real possibility.

Notre Dame football stockpiling quarterback talent

The Irish are looking to replace a legend in Ian Book this season and will do so with graduate transfer Jack Coan from Wisconsin, who will get the first crack at the starting job. True freshman Tyler Buchner is also another player to keep an eye on, as he had no 2020 season due to COVID protocols in California, but has the talent to make plays with his arm and his legs.

Buchner is considered the future of Notre Dame football at the position, but adding Allar would bring intrigue in 2022. He could redshirt in 2022, learning the offense behind Buchner, but either way, this Notre Dame football program is stockpiling quarterback talent in a big way.

In total, the Irish have offered four quarterbacks this recruiting cycle, but with Ty Simpson landing in Alabama, it leaves Allar, Steve Angeli, and Gavin Wimsatt. Needless to say, Notre Dame football is doing a tremendous job of finding talent for the foreseeable future, and Allar would be an exciting player to see under center when all is said and done.