Even a team that’s been as hot on the recruiting trail as Notre Dame can suffer losses every now and then. That was hammered home first thing on Monday morning when the Irish watched one of their top offensive line targets not just pick another school, but seemingly move to Auburn very late in the process. Layton Von Brandt was thought to be a heavy lean to Marcus Freeman and Co. for most of the last few months. However, on Monday morning, he chose War Eagle instead.
At least one sign that things were changing quickly was that the 4-star offensive tackle moved up his declaration date by a little more than six weeks. The Rivals Industry Ranking’s No. 5 offensive tackle in the 2027 class announced his pledge on the Rivals YouTube channel.
Also, the No. 75 overall player nationally and top prospect in Delaware, Von Brandt, was initially set to commit July 1 after his official visits to Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida, and Penn State. However, when that announcement date was moved up, it appeared that only one team had taken the lead. That was confirmed when Von Brandt pulled out an Auburn sweatshirt as he announced he was headed to the SEC alsoran.
A product of Middletown (Del.) Appoquinimink, von Brandt was previously committed to the Nittany Lions from Nov. 9, 2024, to Oct. 12, 2025. However, he backed off his 11-month pledge to Penn State after it fired James Franklin midway through last season.
Layton Von Brandt leaves Notre Dame football wondering what changed before his Auburn pledge
The 6-foot, 7-inch and 281-pounder is definitely a tough loss for Notre Dame, though it seems at least that the Irish saw this coming for a little while. Freeman and his staff can also take solace in knowing that he still has one of the best recruiting classes in the country, and it’s not at all shy on talented offensive linemen.
It also wasn’t at all a surprise, considering that on Sunday, even prominent ND analysts Mike Singer and Kyle Kelly put in official predictions for Von Brandt to pick Auburn. It stands to reason that rather than just moving up his announcement date, he’d communicated to staff he was headed down south.
One does have to wonder just what happened to change the offensive tackle’s mind. Back in March, it certainly seemed like Notre Dame was the team to beat. It almost seemed as if the idea of waiting until July 1 was simply a formality, and that the Irish had already won the battle.
"The people in that building and the relationships that I have are second to none," the offensive lineman said earlier this spring. Granted, to Von Brandt’s credit, he certainly wasn’t shy about taking visits and driving his decision home. He last went to South Bend on April 11. Before that, he took trips lined up to Virginia Tech (March 21), Florida (March 24), Auburn (March 26), and Tennessee (March 28). He also returned to Penn State, where he’d been 11 times, on April 17.
With that many visits under his belt, Layton Von Brandt knew that Notre Dame wasn’t the place he wanted to go. Of course, even while he’s picked Auburn today, there’s still seven months to go until December, and the Irish might have a trick or two up their sleeves.
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