Everything Notre Dame QB commit Deuce Knight said on Blue & Gold's MEGA show
Lucedale (Miss.) George County quarterback Deuce Knight sent shockwaves throughout college football recruiting circles when he verbally committed to the Notre Dame football program on Monday.
Two days later, the four-star passer, ranked No. 39 overall player and No. 3 quarterback in the 2025 class, joined Blue & Gold recruiting insider Mike Singer and analyst Tim Hyde on the MEGA preview show.
Here’s everything the 6-foot-4½, 180-pounder told Singer and Hyde. You can watch his interview and the rest of the preview show here.
On what the last two days have been like after making a surprise commitment to Notre Dame:
“It’s being crazy. Like Notre Dame, the fans show a lot of love. So, it’s been crazy. Like, my phone’s been blowing up. Just random text messages like on Twitter and Instagram. Just everybody kind of telling me congratulations, things like that. So it’s been a good week.”
On his fit in Notre Dame’s 0ffense:
“I bring a different skill set to the room than what everybody else has. So (offensive coordinator) Coach (Gerad) Parker and (quarterbacks) Coach (Gino) Guidugli, they told me, ‘We’re gonna tailor like everything to what fits me and everything that I do best.’ They’ll have a lot of RPO (Run-pass-option) game. We (are) going to get outside the pocket and throw the ball. A lot of play-action deep shots type things like that.”
On how the Notre Dame staff pushed him to ‘choose hard’:
“I heard (head) Coach (Marcus) Freeman say that plenty of times. I feel like going to Notre Dame, I wouldn’t say it’s choosing hard, but it kind of is, though, because it’s like 12 hours from my crib (house). I’m in SEC country. So, everybody, I’m pretty sure they thought I was gonna go to Ole Miss, go to Auburn or Tennessee. I chose to go to Notre Dame.
“First off, it’s just like the love that they show — Coach Freeman, Coach Parker, (director of recruiting) Chad (Bowden), Coach Guidugli. They show a different type of love. I can call those guys any time with a day for like anything, and they’ll pick up.
“Second, I can compete for a national championship every year. Then, they hold academics to a high standard. So, that’s something that’s very important to me. Then, like the relationships and networking that you get from going to Notre Dame. I feel like you have a higher chance of being successful after football going to Notre Dame.”
On the impact of the Pot of Gold Day recruiting event:
“The build-up to that day, I think Chad, he hit my coach probably a month before Pot of Gold Day. And like ever since then, when they hired Coach Parker as the OC (offensive coordinator) and before he was even hired as the OC, he was still the tight ends coach. So they just made sure they stayed in contact with me.
“I talked to Coach Freeman probably the next day after Chad first hit my head coach up. And whenever they hired Coach Guidugli, he made sure we got on the phone and got to talk. So, I knew it was coming. They told me it was coming. We just had to wait until Pot of Gold Day.
“And then, like ever since then, our fans, we got the best fans in the nation. So, they always show a lot of love on any posts. Like, even if I post another school, they’ll be in the comments, like, ‘Go Irish’ dropping the clovers and all that.”
On his relationship with Guidugli:
“With me coming to Notre Dame, I feel like Coach Gino played a huge role in that. Me and Coach Gino are tight. We talk probably every day of the week. He’s going to send me a text, we’re gonna get on the phone, get on FaceTime, chop it up. Talk about life, all those things. We got a great relationship.
“I feel like he’s the kind of guy, like me. Like, really chill, and we just know how to handle business and things like that. But we still like to play around and have fun and things like that. Then, I feel like Coach Gino did a great job of recruiting my parents, too. He and my dad probably talk more than me. So I feel like that’s a good thing.”
On the importance of academics:
“I’m very big on academics. That’s a big reason why I chose Notre Dame. But if we’re being honest, I’ve never been the person to really like school. It’s just something you have to do. It’s like practicing. So, if I’m gonna go out there, if I’m gonna go to school every day, I’m still gonna try to be the best at whatever I’m doing at school. So I’m not gonna slack off just because I don’t like it.
“I’ll say history is probably my favorite subject. I’m not a big math type guy. Or a big English-type guy because I just don’t like all the writing you have to do with all the English. So, I’ll say history.”
On which quarterbacks he studies:
“My favorite quarterback is Cam Newton, hands down. I watched his highlight tape at Auburn probably 1,000 times. But right now in the NFL, I like watching Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, the things they do. All the crazy arm angles. (They’re athletic, too). And then in college, I like watching Michael Penix — that’s my guy. Caleb Williams.”
Rapid fire questions
Go-to Taco Bell order:
“Chicken quesadilla. One time, I had that for like five days straight.”
Favorite video game of all time.
“It’s gotta be Madden. That’s all I really play is Madden. Panthers (are my favorite team).”
Favorite part about Notre Dame’s campus:
“It’s gotta be probably the Golden Dome. I love the Golden Dome. It looks good on me.”
Funniest Notre Dame coach:
“Chad (Bowden). It’s gotta be Chad, even though he’s like the head recruiter. But Chad, he’s just a real character.”
Notre Dame commit that you’re tightest with:
“I really hadn’t talked to many of the Notre Dame commits. I know my first time out there, I chatted with Karson Hobbs a bit.”
One word to describe Chad Bowden:
“Energetic. Got the most energy. Most energy in the building.”
One word to describe your game as a quarterback:
“I’m just gonna say, competitor. That’s just me. I hate losing. So you’re just gonna get everything out of me. If I’m hurt and all, I will still try to give everything. So, competitor.”
