Notre Dame has taken a step forward with quarterback recruiting in the 2023 class.
Four-star prospect Austin Novosad (6-foot-3, 180 pounds) reported a Notre Dame offer Monday. The Dripping Springs (Texas) High pro-style passer is the first one the Irish have offered since top target Dante Moore committed to Oregon on Friday. Novosad committed to Baylor on Dec. 16, but five schools have offered since then.
Following his pledge to the Bears, Novosad has expressed interest in other schools. Rivals’ No. 9 pro-style quarterback in the class officially visited Ohio State on June 10, nine days after an initial trip to Columbus for camp. He also unofficially visited Texas A&M on June 25, earning an offer from the Aggies.
Novosad is a Texas A&M legacy and reports 18 total offers. Stanford and TCU were the other schools, in addition to OSU, TAMU and ND, to offer him after his commitment to the Bears. He has still shown interest in Baylor — about 130 miles from Dripping Springs — officially visiting June 17.
At the recent Elite 11 Finals in Redondo Beach, Calif., Novosad told Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney that he was still considering Baylor, Ohio State and Texas A&M with intentions of finalizing a decision soon.
“I want to try to get it done as soon as I can, and once I know where I want to go, shut it down,” Novosad said. “There’s no need to wait it out. I want to focus on this next season and get back with my boys at the workouts and stuff. Just focusing on the season is very important.
“It was kind of closing, and then the A&M thing is something to really consider, so I want to make sure to think about it before I pull the trigger. I just want to make sure I make the right decision because it’s a big decision.”
The increased attention for the No. 136 player in the class comes after a junior season in which he completed 63.6% of his passes (208-of-327) for 3,399 yards and 40 touchdowns over 11 games. His high school team went undefeated (10-0) in the regular season before losing to Georgetown (Texas) High, 63-56, in the first round of the playoffs.
As a sophomore, he led Dripping Springs to a 9-4 campaign while completing 61.5% of his passes (166-of-270) for 2,857 yards and 36 touchdowns. He also scored a rushing touchdown.
Last summer, Baylor was the first school to offer the now No. 2 pro-style quarterback in Texas. Since June 2021, he has also visited Houston, North Carolina, Penn State, Rice, SMU, Texas, Texas Tech, UTSA and Vanderbilt.
In addition to Moore, the other six quarterbacks Notre Dame offered in the 2023 class have committed to other schools. Including Novosad, Inside ND Sports wrote about six quarterbacks worth monitoring for ND interest.
Before switching positions, Avery Davis (2017) was the last quarterback Notre Dame signed from Texas. When Davis, a former three-star recruit from Cedar Hill (Texas) High, came to Notre Dame, he transitioned to running back, switched to cornerback and finally found his footing at wide receiver.
Novosad plays on the same 7-on-7 team as Notre Dame wide receiver commit and Round Round (Texas) Stony Point High standout Braylon James.
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @ByKyleKelly.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
