Notre Dame football: No shortage of interest from QBs

With the transfer of Gunner Kiel and the academic loss of Everett Golson from Notre Dame’s 2013 roster, names of quarterback recruits and potential transfers have continued to be mentioned in connection with the Irish this offseason.

On Wednesday, former Texas QB Connor Brewer became the latest. The Arizona Republic reported that Brewer, a Scottsdale, Ariz., native transferring from Texas after a redshirt freshman season, has heard from a number of schools including Notre Dame.

Brewer told The Arizona Republic he received a full release from his Texas scholarship and is open on a future landing place. The report lists Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA as programs of interest and names Alabama, Notre Dame, Stanford, Duke and Tennessee as teams that have already reached out to Brewer.

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound quarterback played at Chaparral High in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he teamed with former Notre Dame wide receiver Davonte’ Neal to win state championships as juniors and seniors in 2010 and 2011. Neal left Notre Dame in the spring for Arizona, where former Chaparral head coach Charlie Ragle works as an assistant to coach Rich Rodriguez.

“I don’t have a place in mind,” Brewer told The Arizona Republic. “Definitely (UA) could be a good place to go. It’s still early, too soon to say where I’ll end up.”

Brewer was projected as a top 10 pro-style quarterback by both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com in the 2012 recruiting class rankings after throwing for 7,574 yards and 100 touchdowns in his prep career.

At Texas, Brewer was set to battle for a backup role in 2013.

A fit with the Irish is unclear, but so is Notre Dame’s future quarterback depth chart. Golson has publicly expressed plans to return for the 2014 season after being dismissed from school this spring.

Other quarterbacks who could be on scholarship at Notre Dame for the 2014 season include Andrew Hendrix, if given a fifth year, Malik Zaire, who enters his freshman season this fall, and 2014 verbal commitment DeShone Kizer.

Brewer is eligible to play in 2014 no matter what program he chooses.

New commit rankings

Summer rankings for the 2014 recruiting class were released Wednesday by 247Sports.com and a few Notre Dame commits received sizeable rankings bumps in the Top 247.

Wide receiver Justin Brent now sits as the highest-ranked Irish commit in the 2014 class at No. 63 overall after moving up 59 spots.

Offensive lineman Quenton Nelson received the biggest boost, jumping up 152 spots to No. 74 overall. Running back Elijah Hood is slated close behind at No. 76 overall after moving up 55 spots.

Five more commits made the Top 247: defensive end Andrew Trumbetti (117), quarterback DeShone Kizer (147), offensive lineman Alex Bars (171), defensive end Jay Hayes (183) and tight end Nic Weishar (211).

Of those eight commitments, Hayes’ ranking took the biggest hit, dropping 38 spots.

Two recent Notre Dame visitors made the top 10 overall in the new Top 247: defensive end Lorenzo Carter at No. 4 and defensive tackle Matt Elam at No. 10.

Committed punter/kicker Tyler Newsome also received a new ranking from Chris Sailer Kicking. After competing in a camp earlier this summer, Newsome now ranks as the No. 12 punter in the 2014 class and the No. 30 kicker in the class. He previously was ranked as the No. 33 kicker and didn’t have a ranking as a punter.

2015 offers in July

The Irish received their first verbal commitment for the 2015 recruiting class last month in Shreveport, La., offensive lineman Jerry Tillery, and the coaching staff continues to extend offers to rising juniors.

A trio of 2015 four-star recruits have reported offers on Twitter since the start of July: defensive tackle TD Moton, running back Nicholas Brossette and offensive lineman Matthew Burrell Jr.

Moton, a 6-4, 310-pound prospect from Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport, La., ranks as the No. 20 defensive tackle according to 247Sports.

Brossette, a 6-0, 210-pound prospect from University Laboratory School in Baton Rouge, La., ranks as the No. 12 running back and No. 112 overall according to 247Sports.

Burrell, a 6-4, 278-pound prospect from C.D. Hylton High in Woodbridge, Va., ranks as the No. 21 offensive tackle and No. 203 overall.