Notre Dame’s all-in effort on Dante Moore came up short when Moore selected Oregon on Friday. As the Irish reset their 2023 quarterback board with just over five months until Signing Day, they made their first significant move following Moore’s commitment to the Ducks by offering 4-star quarterback Austin Novosad, a current Baylor commitment.
The Irish were fading for Moore for a while and accepted a commitment from 2024 5-star quarterback CJ Carr that felt like sealed Notre Dame’s fate with Moore at the time. Notre Dame kept recruiting Moore, but Oregon’s momentum was not being stopped at that point. With Moore off the board, Notre Dame was left with a bare recruiting board after all of the other quarterbacks they were recruiting before the decision to be all-in on Moore committed elsewhere.
Enter Austin Novosad. There had been some talk about Novosad being a potential target for Notre Dame even before Moore committed to Oregon. Heck, Novosad himself mentioned that Notre Dame didn’t have a quarterback committed yet weeks ago and that he would be open to communication from Notre Dame.
Austin Novosad tossed 40 touchdowns last year for Dripping Springs HS in Texas while completing 63.6% of his passes for 3,399 yards. Over the previous two seasons, he’s racked up 75 touchdowns and 6,072 yards with just 13 interceptions.
Others Trying to Flip Novosad
Notre Dame is not the only school currently trying to flip Austin Novosad. Texas A&M, who also lost out on Moore, and Ohio State are in pursuit as well, even though Novosad has been committed to Baylor since December. His stock has risen quite a bit since that commitment, though.
Novosad was ranked #520 overall on the 247 rankings in December but is currently rated #221 overall by 247. Rivals has Novosad ranked the highest at #136 overall.
Novosad visited Baylor and Ohio State in June, so he still has three official visits remaining to potentially visit Notre Dame if the Irish staff can make a quick connection.
Baylon James Connection
Fellow Texan Braylon James, the first wide receiver to commit to Notre Dame for the class of 2023, is already working on getting Novosad to join the Texas to South Bend connection in the class of 2023.
Safety Peyton Bowen and cornerback Micah Bell, half of Notre Dame’s elite secondary haul, hail from the Lonestar state. Notre Dame is also working on getting another receiver from Texas, Jaden Greathouse, in the class of 2023. Greathouse is set to announce his decision on Friday, with the Irish the odds-on-favorite to land him.
