Louisville Cardinals shake up Notre Dame football's quarterback chase

The Notre Dame football team has a fight on its hands regarding whoever it wants to take for the 2026 class. Two players have stood out for a while now, in large part because they are among the best in the class. They also have quite a bit of love for Marcus Freeman and company.

However, while both Brady Hart and Noah Grubbs are considered leans towards Notre Dame football, there's a long time to go until everyone gets to the finish line. That was on full display again on Thursday night.

The Irish now face a new challenge in their pursuit of Hart, and it's a team that has been a formidable opponent for Notre Dame in recent years. The Louisville Cardinals have entered the race for the 4-star quarterback recruit, raising questions about their influence on the path to the 2026 class's National Signing Day.

Of course, it's not as though schools come from Hart has really hurt Notre Dame's chances before now. He's gotten offers from more than 20 schools, including Michigan State, Kentucky, Iowa, Purdue, Indiana, Penn State, and Miami. 

Notre Dame football has a familiar foe vying for quarterback target

On the other hand, there's some wrinkles when it comes to the recruitment of Brady Hart that could make things a bit more difficult. It's long looked as though the first guy to commit to the Irish is who Notre Dame will take.

It's possible that Hart simply isn't ready to pull the trigger, even if most recruiting analysts believe he's leaning towards the Golden Domers. If he believes, like everyone else does that it's a race to commit with Noah Grubbs, maybe he's letting Grubbs win that race.

More competition for Brady Hart for Notre Dame football is never a good thing. But it's not clear yet just what the Louisville offer will mean in the long run.