Notre Dame has landed its quarterback in the class of 2019.
Just a couple of weeks after a successful official visit over the weekend of June 16, Midlothian (Va.) Manchester three-star quarterback Brendon Clark announced his commitment to the Irish over the likes of North Carolina and Clemson.
Following the de-commitment of four-star Cade McNamara, now a Michigan commit, Notre Dame zeroed in on Wisconsin commit Graham Mertz as the main target at quarterback in 2019.
The Irish were optimistic about their chances with Mertz, but a visit never materialized and Notre Dame moved on.
Clark landed his offer from the Irish in late May, and backed off his pledge to Wake Forest soon after.
Notre Dame was able to get him on campus and impress him enough heading into a decision.
“They’re definitely a contender, for sure,” Clark said after his Irish official. “Obviously, football is huge there, but the academic side is also very prestigious as well. They take that seriously.”
Prior to his decision, Clark made visits to Tennessee, Notre Dame and Clemson.
According to MaxPreps, Clark completed 165 of 272 passing attempts in 2017 for 2,006 yards, 28 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Clark said the Irish coaching staff made it clear during his visit that they aren’t recruiting him just to fill a spot in the class.
“They said they wouldn’t have me there if they didn’t think I could go there and compete,” Clark said. “They said they don’t recruit backups. The best player wins, and they said I’d have the opportunity one day to potentially be their guy.”
Clark is rated by Rivals as the No. 23 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2019 and the No. 15 overall player in the state of Virginia.
With Clark's pledge, Notre Dame know has 17 commitments in the class of 2019 and seven on offense. Clark is the second player to join the Irish on July 4 following Olney (Md.) Good Counsel wide receiver Cam Hart, who made his announcement a little before noon.
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