Urban Meyer believes Notre Dame should be recruiting better quarterbacks

If Notre Dame is to reach the level it hopes to under Marcus Freeman, Urban Meyer believes quarterbacks are the key. The Fighting Irish struggled in the passing game last season after Tyler Buchner suffered a season-ending injury, finishing the year 97th in the country with 207.1 air yards per game.

They brought in Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman, the ACC’s career leader in passing yards (12,967) and touchdowns (110), in effort to make up for that. However, while Meyer made clear Hartman is a “great player,” he argued that Notre Dame should never have to go to the portal to find a quarterback.

Instead, he thinks the Fighting Irish should put more effort into targeting the top QBs in the country on the recruiting trail.

“I still am amazed that Notre Dame’s gotta go to Wake Forest to get a transfer quarterback,” Meyer said on Urban’s Take with Tim May. “That doesn’t equate to me. Now, he’s a great player. But Notre Dame’s gotta go recruit them a five-star and they should have one, two and three excellent quarterbacks because it’s Notre Dame. You, Ohio State and those top blue blood teams, you should be in the mix on every top quarterback in America to get ’em.”

2018 was the last time Notre Dame signed a top 10 quarterback when it brought in Phil Jurkovec. The Fighting Irish signed one quarterback in the 2023 class, Kenny Minchey, who ranked as the No. 14 QB according to the On3 Industry Rating, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Notre Dame stands to break that streak in 2024 as CJ Carr, the No. 6 quarterback in the class, has pledged his verbal commitment. Still, Meyer made the point that you need to have guys waiting on the depth chart behind your starter in case of an injury or early departure to the NFL.

He used Ohio State, whose previous three quarterbacks all started one or two seasons before leaving for the pros, as an example. They also each spent at least one year as a backup to learn the system.

“The great players leave after three,” he said. “I’m not saying (those who stay longer are) not great players, but after three years they’re gone. Ohio State’s quarterbacks are gone after three years. It started with Dwayne Haskins.”

For now, Notre Dame will be content with Hartman, who last week tied the program record for most touchdowns in a Fighting Irish debut (four) in a 42-3 win against Navy. He’ll hope to keep up that level of play as Notre Dame aims to be a Playoff contender.

But once he leaves this offseason, Meyer believes focusing on recruiting more elite quarterbacks is critical for their future success.

“The fact that you have guys there six years is obviously a luxury, but you go recruit you the best quarterback in the country,” he said. “Develop ’em, let ’em play for two years and go be a first-round draft pick. For them to get where they have to get, that has to happen.”