Notre Dame commit engages in unique peer recruiting to bolster 2025 class

While there’s still a ton of soap opera type storylines around Deuce Knight, it’s clear that the Notre Dame football commit has been doing some heavy lifting in the form of peer recruiting. While some are worried about him heading to Ole Miss, he’s worried about who will be playing alongside him in South Bend.

Continuing his unique approach to peer recruiting, Knight once again demonstrated his unconventional methods last week. His efforts extend beyond one-on-one conversations, as he boldly expresses his desire for a new teammate on the Fighting Irish via social media, a strategy that piques curiosity.

One of the latest guys Knight publicly expressed interest in was 4-star wide receiver Tristen Keys. One of the most interesting aspects of this particular kind of peer recruiting is that Keys does not, at the moment, have a Notre Dame football offer.

Notre Dame football commit peer recruits wide receiver who doesn’t have an offer

Knight brought Keys to the attention of Irish fans when he retweeted a post from the wide receiver announcing he had an offer from the Missouri Tigers.

“I need him at ND,” Knight wrote, alongside a frowny face emoji.

One has to wonder if he was telling Marcus Freeman and the rest of the coaches as much as he was his followers and the fanbase.

Knight and Keys likely know each other from running in the same circles in Mississippi. Knight hails from Lucedale, and Keys is from Hattiesburg. There’s an extra wrinkle in that both are carrying Ole Miss offers.

In fact, Keys is considered a very strong lean towards the Rebels. This could in fact, be part of the smoke that some analysts see as far as Knight thinking about flipping to Lane Kiffin and company. 

However, there is that comment from Deuce Knight. He said he wanted Keys with the Notre Dame football team. It might be Marcus Freeman some good to see what he can do about that.