“Notre Dame is so unique and special": Marcus Freeman's program gets special approval from No. 1 Arkansas recruit

Notre Dame's 2026 class ranks No. 4 in the nation with 16 committed players, but the Fighting Irish have yet to secure a commitment in the 2027 class. One early standout on Marcus Freeman's radar for this cycle is four-star quarterback Hank Hendrix, who visited South Bend on Wednesday and came away impressed.

“Notre Dame is so unique and special," Hendrix told Blue & Gold. "Getting to see the coaches, facilities, stadium, campus — it was all just so historic.”

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Notre Dame quarterback coach Gino Guidugli has been closely monitoring the 6-foot-2, 165 prospect. Hendrix is the No. 1 recruit in Arkansas and the No. 19 quarterback in the 2027 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings.

Hendrix is already posting eye-catching stats, as he was named District Player of the Year after completing 70% of his passes for 4,237 yards and 40 touchdowns. He also shines in basketball, averaging 8.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals as a freshman in 2023.

Notre Dame hasn’t yet offered Hendrix, but it is likely to be on the way. He has offers from Texas Tech, Arkansas, Michigan, Baylor and Washington State.

Notre Dame also hosted four-star QB Kharim Hughley on Monday

Notre Dame's other quarterback target for the 2027 class is four-star prospect Kharim Hughley. The Fighting Irish hosted the Gainesville (Georgia) standout for a visit on Monday.

“I got to talk to all of the coaches, and it was a good trip overall," Hughley told On3 following the trip. "Everything about the school is really, really nice.”

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Hughley is the No. 15 quarterback in the 2027 class and the No. 25 recruit in Georgia, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. The Irish have yet to offer him, but Guidugli saw him a week before his South Bend trip, and the momentum is likely to be increased.

Hughley already has some big offers under his belts from schools like Georgia, Ole Miss, Florida, Auburn and Florida State.

About the author

Maliha is a High School Sports news and listicles writer at Sportskeeda. A post graduate in Management Information Systems, it was her love for writing and sports which led her down the path of sports content creation. An experienced NBA and NFL writer, she covered the two sports extensively at SportsZion and SportsKnot before joining SportsKeeda.

Maliha is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan and is in awe of quarterback Lamar Jackson's dual-threat abilities. She also admires Tom Brady and her all-time favorite coach is 3-time Super Bowl champion Andy Reid. She is a big advocate of high school sports and believes that elite athletes reach a top level owing to the discipline, hard work, team dynamics, resilience, adaptability and self-confidence learnt by playing sports in high schools. Aaron Rodgers leading the Green Bay Packers to victory on his debut against the Minnesota Vikings is one of her fondest NFL memories.

Maliha places a high emphasis on accuracy in her content. She does thorough research, always double checks facts, and only uses information from most relevant and credible sources for her articles. When not writing, she likes to read history and biographical books.

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Edited by Rajdeep Barman