Notre Dame gets second shot at blue-chip 2027 WR after decommit

Back in June, the Notre Dame football team lost out on Khalil Taylor, one of the best wide receivers in the 2027 class. Now they have another shot at bringing him to South Bend.

At the time, Taylor was a Penn State commit, but the Fighting Irish tried hard to flip him. In June, he announced he was solid for the Nittany Lions and was essentially shutting down his recruitment. Turns out the western Pennsylvania prospect had a change of heart. He's no longer committed to James Franklin's squad, and he's looking in the direction of the Fighting Irish as he reopens his recruitment.

Why Notre Dame football now has a real shot to land Khalil Taylor

According to On3's Hayes Fawcett, eight schools stand out for Khalil Taylor now. Notre Dame is now doing battle with Nebraska, Oregon, Florida State, Ohio State, Syracuse, Indiana, and Tennessee. While the Irish have quite a fight on their hands, they clearly have kept working the wide receiver since they offered him in June.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Taylor has caught 12 passes for 264 yards. He's made the most of those touches as he has scored 12 touchdowns for Pine-Richland this season. On the first touch of the season for his high school, Taylor returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

Taylor is listed as the No. 3 player in Pennsylvania, No. 11 wide receiver in the class of 2027, and the No. 56 player in the nation, according to the 247 Composite rankings.

Adding insult to injury to James Franklin and his crew is that the Penn State head coach recently paid a visit to the 2027 wide receiver prospects' high school to check in and try to keep him in the fold. That tactic didn't work.

Once again, James Franklin's loss could be Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame's gain. The Fighting Irish will be coming hard after Khalil Taylor right up until signing day next December.