Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 63 2025 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE He made it to town about three weeks later and received a scholarship offer. It hardly went into consideration. After a successful visit to Clemson June 1, he felt drawn to the Tigers and shut down his recruitment less than a week after seeing Notre Dame. "At that point, I was just going to go down South to play some football, and that's it,'" Hebert said. "I wasn't really thinking much — I had just turned 17." Despite being the 2025 quarterback recruit the Irish coaching staff coveted, Notre Dame had to pivot. The Irish ze- roed in on Knight and secured his com- mitment on Sept. 18, 2023. But the southpaw passer from the South even- tually began having second thoughts about playing his college football in South Bend. That's when the Irish cir- cled back to Hebert. Around the time Knight decommit- ted — some say that day — Notre Dame began laying the groundwork for Hebert to become their top quarterback tar- get once again. Yet, it had to be careful in their pursuit for it to come together perfectly. Clemson has a strict policy with its committed recruits about conversing with opposing coaches while pledged to Swinney's program. Bowden was conscious of the situation and con- tacted Hebert's parents first instead of their son. Augustine's endorse- ment gave him the confidence it was worthwhile. "He was really excited when he heard Notre Dame had a chance at getting him," Augustine said. Bowden made a compelling enough case to the Heberts that they relayed it to their son. His interest was piqued, and he began reconsidering Notre Dame. It was a complete 180 from Hebert's stance while committed to Clemson. "I'm a loyal kid, and I was like, 'I'm leaving in two months, and I'm going to Clemson, and that's it,'" he said. "But then, I really started to think about it and talked to my parents. In the long run, after football, this could be a super good decision for me." A flip to Notre Dame could not be complete without him talking to the coaching staff. So, he spoke with Bowden, Guidugli, head coach Mar- cus Freeman and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. "At the start, they were just feeling me out," he said. "Then once I started to really show interest … they were just putting the facts out there." Hebert declared to the Irish without reporting another recruiting visit to South Bend since his June 2023 trip. He cited his maturation since then and his time at the Brunswick School as the key components in assuring he made the right decision. Intuition mattered above all else. "It was really just a gut feeling," he said. "In my life, I've just been super successful following my gut. I came to Brunswick, which has similar values to Notre Dame. I think all the chips fell in the right spot, and everything happened for a reason." ✦ BLAKE HEBERT QUARTERBACK 6-3 ∙ 220 BRUNSWICK SCHOOL (CONN.) BOXFORD, MASS. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE Industry ✪ ✪ ✪ 411 26 3 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 37 3 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 29 3 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 278 9 2 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 18 3 STATISTICS • Completed 96 of 156 passes for 1,589 yards with 16 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while leading his team to the championship game of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) as a senior. Also had 48 rushing attempts for 625 yards and 11 scores. • Missed the majority of his junior season at Lawrence (Mass.) Central Catholic due to an ankle injury. • Connected on 111 of 185 pass attempts for 1,748 yards with 24 scores and 1 interception as a sophomore in 2022. Also ran for 297 yards and 4 touchdowns. NOTABLE • Awarded Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2024. • Named the NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year as a senior. • Played with Notre Dame junior linebacker Pres- ton Zinter at Central Catholic in 2021 and 2022. • Born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. RECRUITMENT • Enrolled at Notre Dame in January. • Committed to the Fighting Irish on Oct. 14, 2024. • Was pledged to Clemson from June 16, 2023, to Oct. 14, 2024. • Recruited by quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli. • Visited Notre Dame twice, including his official visit on Nov. 17, 2024. 2025 PROJECTION • Expected to redshirt. THEY SAID IT Head coach Marcus Freeman: "Blake presents almost a dual threat, a guy that can extend plays with his legs and has a really good arm. What I love most about Blake in the short time in getting to know each other is his competitive spirit and leadership. You don't have to be in a room long with him to understand the leadership values that I believe quarterbacks must have, and he definitely possesses that leadership and competitive spirit that we look for." Guidugli: "I think it was important that we got somebody with some athleticism. We must ensure the room is not the same guy at every position. Sometimes, your personnel is going to dictate your offense. Whatever a guy's strengths are particular to that position will drive what the offense looks like. … "His rushing ability was an important aspect. It is a deal that could give him the edge with his athleticism." On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power: "He'll bring that rushing element that we've seen Notre Dame employ with Riley Leon- ard. He can bring that to Notre Dame in terms of quarterback-designed runs. He's averaging 10 yards per carry. "With his passing, he can make tough throws over the middle of the field. He'll surely need some things to smooth out as a passer. He has a tendency to just try to throw a fastball often — adding some touch, nuance and polish as a passer will help him." Hebert was tabbed as the 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year n Connecticut after accounting for 2,214 yards of total offense and 27 touchdowns in his lone season at Greenwich (Conn) Brunswick School. PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY