‘27 FL QB Wonderful “Champ” Monds IV (Offer)

[NDPhilly]

But you also have to pay for the HS guys, and the five star HS kids in some recent cycles have gone for absurd money. I think college teams are figuring out now that it's a waste of resources, but spending ~$4M/year on a proven portal guy each year > spending millions each HS cycle AND still having to pay that guy $4M+ per year if he hits.

I don't know the exact math on all of this, I just think it's interesting that post-CJ they are clearly not going "high star" guys. They aren't doing what Vandy is doing and over paying for a 5-star unproven kid. They could *obviously* be landing "high star" guys if they wanted to given how the other recruiting has been going.

I would bet that the moneyball way of doing QB recruiting is getting guys who check boxes for athleticism, arm talent, etc. but are lower rated and then 1) they will stick around longer as a backup to develop 2) they cost less while sticking around 3) they have commensurate upside to "high star" guys if they hit.

There are guys like Cam Ward, Riley Leonard, Mensah, etc. in the portal every year that are better than what -- for example -- Arch Manning showed after multiple years of burning tons of NIL $$ on the bench.

I don’t know if this is true. They had Deuce Knight (5 star) committed, and Jarrard and Monds were both top 50 recruits with offers from everyone before reclassifying.

 

[Dale]

Yeah I’m not sure I agree that Monds, Grubbs and Jarrard is a strategy of low star guys. The 2027 class is also just bad, it’s not a good QB class. If in the end they take Jarrard and Monds from that, over Georgia and Ohio State, I’m not sure 247s ranking is an indication of strategy there. It’s not a “we missed on Knight, just sign Hebert” type move.

Even back to the 2026 class, Henderson stayed home, Curtis stayed home. Tennessee wouldn’t be outbid for Brandon. Ryder Lyons is Mormon and going on mission isn’t really a 2026 kid. Really the only guy was Dia Bell if you were gonna splurge. So is there a slight argument they went Grubbs over Bell due to money? Maybe. I don’t know that answer. Everyone ranked below those guys in the 2026 class is just recruiting service noise versus Grubbs.

 

[stlnd01]

I will be curious, going forward, if our newfound flexibility toward undergrad transfers will also apply to quarterbacks.

Because, barring a Carr-like unicorn, the best move often might be being the second school for an elite QB recruit. Someone who's got their initial bag, and a taste of college ball, and is now ready to get serious for a couple years. Basically Dante Moore at Oregon. What Ole Miss hopes they have in Deuce Knight. Someone who's at least a little proven but who you can also build a team around for multiple seasons.

But you can't get those guys if you can't take sophomores.

 

[Dale]

I don’t know if this is true. They had Deuce Knight (5 star) committed, and Jarrard and Monds were both top 50 recruits with offers from everyone before reclassifying.

Niemann Lawrence is also their early top 2028 target and is Top 50 type guy.

 

[GoIrish41]

He has probably the best freshman highlight tape I’ve ever seen. The first throw is absolutely mind boggling for a 14 year old.



Here is his brief sophomore / junior (fall 2025) tape. He had an ankle injury early in the year and only had 63 total attempts.



The upside is top 10 pick / Heisman winner. People aren’t going to get as excited about this one as they should bc of his adjusted rating after reclassifying, but this is a massive pull.

I think he’s the best QB coming out of HS this year. Effortless arm strength and really accurate. And he’s a year younger than almost every other QB he’s being compared to.

 

[IrishLax]

Post-CJ they did try to get Deuce Knight....

I think it is a combination of things. I definitely feel this staff values "fit". They aren't going to take a guy who is 100% going to leave if he isn't playing after a year. Hebert is what he is- the scramble mode qb because of Deuce. The 26 qb class didn't have a lot of ND fit type players. 27 qb class has been interesting.

I think it is a year by year thing. If there is a stud who fits, they will pay. But they won't pay just to pay. They realize that they can get a high end transfer if they need to.

They also ultimately weren't going entertain his asking price and were fine letting him walk without much regret/consternation on ND's end. I just don't think paying HS QB recruits is a priority. It also might have to do with the fact that we just don't really like the "rated" guys and its a self-fulfilling prophecy, but just in general we are not spending on HS QBs like Michigan did on Underwood, Vandy did on Curtis, etc. If you look at 2025 and 2026 in a bubble, we probably aren't even in the top 25 in HS QB spend, but that's mostly speculation based on what I heard ND paid relative to what has been reported on other top guys it's not like I have a spreadsheet to verify this.

 

[Dale]

we are not spending on HS QBs like Michigan did on Underwood, Vandy did on Curtis, etc

But did we have an open job to promise to a true freshman QB? I think what on one hand seems like lack of desire to do it one way could in reality be a sign of program health + small sample size. We don’t have a gaping hole at QB that needs to be addressed with a check written in December to a true freshman via flipping a HS kid. You couldn’t do it in 2025, you have Carr. You couldn’t do it in 2026, you have Carr. You can’t even do it in 2027, you may or may not have Carr.

Same as Michigan signing Tommy Carr, the other kid and Lopati. They just aren’t in that time of the cycle to do it again. I’m sure Vandy won’t be anytime soon either. It’s not like DE or OT where you could say, why not just splurge and do it again.

To land a 5 star type kid that is willing to sit is a group of like 0 - 2 kids probably at most in a given cycle.

Long and short, I think they have a strategy that has lent to not landing not a 5 star QB in recent cycles, but I’m not sure it is for the reasons of money or portal. Even if that lands us in the same place in the end.

 

[allenm5333]

But did we have an open job to promise to a true freshman QB? I think what on one hand seems like lack of desire to do it one way could in reality be a sign of program health + small sample size. We don’t have a gaping whole at QB that needs to be addressed with a check written in December to a true freshman via flipping a HS kid. You couldn’t do it in 2025, you have Carr. You couldn’t do it in 2026, you have Carr. You can’t even do it in 2027, you may or may not have Carr.

Same as Michigan signing Carr, the other kid and Lopati. They just aren’t in that time of the cycle to do it again. I’m sure Vandy won’t be anytime soon either. It’s not like DE or OT where you could say, why not just splurge and do it again.

Some great points here. I think the biggest thing is we need some more years to really assess this new era.