Peyton Bowen will not be the only one-time Notre Dame commit making his way to Eugene, Ore., in January.
On Wednesday, four-star running back Jayden Limar announced his commitment to Oregon. The Lake Stevens (Wash.) High product's decision to commit to the Ducks comes just hours after Bowen — a five-star safety previously committed to the Irish since Jan. 1 — shocked the recruiting world by flipping his commitment to Oregon.
Unlike Limar, Bowen remained pledged to the Irish up until announcing his flip earlier Wednesday. Notre Dame essentially erased the 5-foot-10, 181-pound Limar from the class Saturday when he made an official visit to Oregon.
Under head coach Marcus Freeman, the Irish enacted the policy that if one of its recruits officially visited an opposing school while committed, they would no longer consider that player a part of their recruiting class. Rivals250 four-star cornerback Justyn Rhett was the first to violate it by officially visiting Georgia on April 16. During his UGA visit, Rhett decommitted from Notre Dame. He committed to the Bulldogs nine days later.
Limar is the seventh 2023 recruit to leave Notre Dame's class and third running back to sign elsewhere after a previous commitment with the Irish. Sedrick Irvin and Dylan Edwards also abandoned their pledge during this recruiting cycle. Irvin eventually committed to Stanford and Edwards followed head coach Deion Sanders to Colorado.
Five-star defensive end Keon Keeley signed with Alabama, and Rivals250 four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige signed with Southern California. Both were also former Notre Dame commits.
Limar is the top 2023 offensive recruit to back off his Notre Dame commitment. Rivals currently ranks him as the No. 144 overall player, No. 8 running back and No. 2 player in Washington in the class.
When Limar committed to the Irish last May, Oregon was one of four finalists. Despite his Notre Dame pledge, the Ducks never stopped pushing for the No. 1 running back from the West. Limar was also in Eugene, Ore., for a game this season. As time went on in his recruitment, playing closer to home became a more enticing option as he visited Arizona and Washington during the season and considered UCLA.
Limar abandoned Notre Dame after a spectacular senior high school season in which he racked up 2,040 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns on 235 carries (8.7 yards per carry). He was involved in the passing game, hauling in 26 catches for 327 yards (12.6 yards per catch) and four scores.
Despite losing Limar, Irvin and Edwards, Notre Dame has the No. 4 running back in the 2023 class signed in Jeremiyah Love and the No. 1 all-purpose back in the 2024 class committed in Aneyas Williams. The Irish also have five scholarship running backs on its current roster, including two freshmen — Gi'Bran Payne and Jadarian Price. Both Payne and Price redshirted this season behind sophomores Logan Diggs and Audric Estimé and junior Chris Tyree.
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