We know, we know, it’s been a while. We’ve been busy and the 2022 board was, well, not that big. The last time we got together, in September, the Irish class had 21 commits. It has [drum roll] 22 commits today, adding two and losing one (more on that in a bit) over the last month. For a long time the board was fairly quiet everywhere, actually. There have been 22 commitments (including flips) from prospects with Notre Dame offers over the last three months, which is not a big number, while only three new offers have gone out. There have been nine decommitments, with seven of those at least partially related to coaching turnover.

So, again, there hasn’t been a ton going on. With the early signing period opening up next week there is some stretch run drama though, and the Irish are working on holding onto the current commitments and securing a couple more.

One other thing of note… A recent NCAA rule change allows a school to offer a second official visit to any prospect if there has been a head coaching change at that school. Notre Dame is taking advantage of this to hold sort of a winter barbeque event this weekend, bringing in almost the entire committed class (CJ Williams and Amorion Walker both have state championship games this weekend and can’t make it, unfortunately). There could be some uncommitted players in too but we’re not sure how all that will shake out yet. It’s a brilliant move by the school though and we’re very glad to see them take advantage of the new rule.

The Board

A reminder on how we do this – we’ll include the entire big board table but only review prospects who are above “Cold” status and who have had actual developments of late. Speaking of which, the temperature scale:

  • Hot means the prospect is on commit watch.
  • Warm means the prospect has Notre Dame in a small final group and/or is a possible Irish lean.
  • Mild/Mild+ means the prospect is in regular contact with the staff and has visited or has firm visit plans.
  • Cool means the prospect has some level of contact with the staff and/or vague visit plans; also the default temperature for most new offers.
  • Cold is a known (or reasonably safely assumed) lack of contact with the staff and/or an elimination.

Also, on the 247 Composite scores: Roughly speaking above .9830 is a five star, above .9500 is a top 100 prospect, above .9200 is a top 200 prospect, and above .8900 is a four star. Those slide around a little within a cycle and from one cycle to the next, but they’re pretty solid ballpark numbers.

Remember that of course we don’t have perfect information on all prospects – we don’t know for sure whether a prospect has or hasn’t talked to the staff outside of what’s reported elsewhere. We don’t know for sure how high prospects are on the staff’s board. We try to make highly-educated guesses at all of it, but we don’t know.

Unit Position 247C First Name Last Name Temp
O OG 0.9458 Julian Armella Cold
O OG 0.9443 Carson Hinzman Cold
O OG 0.9309 Billy Schrauth Warm
O QB 0.9837 Walker Howard Cold
O TE 0.8810 Arlis Boardingham Cold
O WR 0.9788 Kevin Coleman Cold
O WR 0.9644 Kendrick Law Cold
O WR 0.9453 Darrius Clemons Cold
O WR 0.9409 Antonio Williams Cold
O WR 0.9259 DJ Allen Cold
O WR 0.8918 Wesley Grimes Mild
O WR 0.8863 Eli King Cold
O WR 0.0000 Xayvion Bradshaw Cold
D CB 0.9959 Domani Jackson Cold
D CB 0.9921 Denver Harris Cold
D CB 0.9576 Earl Little Jr. Cold
D CB 0.9288 Austin Ausberry Cold
D CB 0.9240 Jaeden Gould Cold
D CB 0.9025 Davison Igbinosun Cold
D CB 0.8542 Avery Powell Cold
D DT 0.9771 Anthony Lucas Mild
D DT 0.9638 Caden Curry Cold
D DT 0.9563 Hero Kanu Mild
D LB 0.9961 Harold Perkins Cold
D LB 0.9545 Jaishawn Barham Cold
D LB 0.9000 Robby Snelling Cold
D S 0.9865 Kamari Wilson Cold
D S 0.9783 Zion Branch Cold
D S 0.9241 Larry Turner-Gooden Cold
D S 0.9071 Devin Moore Warm
D S 0.8330 Koen Entringer Mild+
D SDE 0.9942 Shemar Stewart Cold
D SDE 0.9676 Derrick Moore Cold
D SDE 0.8946 Isaac Hamm Cold
D WDE 0.9826 Enai White Cold
D WDE 0.9744 Cyrus Moss Cold
D WDE 0.9231 DJ Wesolak Cold
D WDE 0.8265 Alex Bauman Cold

On the Board

Prospects are listed with their position, 247 Composite score, 247 Composite overall rank, and 247 Composite position rank.

  • CB Domani Jackson, 0.9959, #7/#2, decommitted from USC
  • QB Walker Howard, 0.9837, #33/#5, new offer, soft verbal to LSU
  • SDE Derrick Moore, 0.9676, #78/#12, decommitted from Oklahoma
  • WR DJ Allen, 0.9259, #182/#28, decommitted from TCU
  • S Larry Turner-Goodman, 0.9241, #189/#14, decommitted from ASU
  • CB Jaeden Gould, 0.9240, #190/#23, decommitted from USC
  • WR Chandler Smith, 0.9128, #225/#34, decommitted from Florida
  • CB Ephesians Prysock, 0.9084, #246/#30, decommitted from USC
  • S Devin Moore, 0.9071, #252/#20, decommitted from Notre Dame
  • CB Davison Igbinosun, 0.9025, #280/#32, decommitted from Rutgers
  • WR Wesley Grimes, 0.8918, #358/#55, new offer, soft verbal to Wake Forest
  • S Koen Entringer, 0.8330, #1475/#125, new offer

Off the Board

  • OT Zach Rice, North Carolina, 0.9937, #11/#1
  • S Xavier Nwankpa, Iowa, 0.9783, #45/#4
  • WR Andre Greene, North Carolina, 0.9733, #64/#8
  • WDE Kenyatta Jackson, Ohio State, 0.9713, #69/#7
  • WDE David Bailey, Stanford, 0.9711, #70/#8
  • WR Brenen Thompson, Texas, 0.9656, #81/#12
  • OT Aamil Wagner, Notre Dame, 0.9457, #127/#12
  • LB Devon Jackson, Oregon, 0.9398, #150/#15
  • SDE Ernest Cooper IV, Stanford, 0.9397, #151/#23
  • LB Lander Barton, Utah, 0.9197, #202/#22
  • ATH Dillon Tatum, Michigan State, 0.9052, #262/#11
  • TE Benji Gosnell, Virginia Tech, 0.8958, #325/#15
  • ATH Omari Kelly, Auburn, 0.8925, #352/#18
  • ATH Cooper Barkate, Harvard, 0.8850, #415/#27
  • RB Major Everhart, TCU, 0.8776, #531/#32
  • RB Quinshon Judkins, Auburn, 0.8763, #541/#44
  • ATH Carson Tabaracci, Utah, 0.8739, #567/#36
  • WR Elic Ayomanor, Stanford, 0.8594, #846/#126

Flipped

  • WR Evan Stewart, Texas to Texas A&M, 0.9960, #6/#2
  • DT Mykel Williams, USC to Georgia, 0.9869, #25/#5
  • QB Devin Brown, USC to Ohio State, 0.9762, #52/#6
  • LB Kobie McKinzie, Oklahoma to Texas, 0.9424, #143/#13
  • WR Nicholas Anderson, Oregon to Oklahoma, 0.9109, #238/#40
  • OT Aliou Bah, Florida State to Georgia, 0.8939, #337/#29
  • P Bryce McFerson, Wake Forest to Notre Dame, NR/#9

Quarterback

Commits: Steve Angeli, 0.9075, #249 overall/#17 position
Slots: 1-2

Since our last update it has become apparent that the staff would be willing to take a second quarterback in this class. They extended an offer to LSU commit Walker Howard, who was looking around well before Brian Kelly was announced as their new head coach, and when things cooled with him went after Devin Brown, who eventually committed to Ohio State. The staff may kick the tires on Nick Evers (0.9373, #155/#10), who just decommitted from Florida, as well.

What does this all mean for current Irish commit Steve Angeli? Well, he reportedly doesn’t mind it at all and welcomes the competition. This will be an interesting position to watch down the stretch.

Running Back

Commits: JD Price, 0.9228, #192 overall/#17 position
Slots: 1-2

The staff checked in on Nick Singleton when speculation of James Franklin to USC heated up, but that door remained very firmly shut. Proximity to family was a significant factor for Singleton, and nothing can change the fact that Penn State is next door while Notre Dame is not.

The class is very likely done at this position.

Wide Receiver

Commits: CJ Williams, 0.9680, #75 overall/#11 position; Tobias Merriweather, 0.9472, #123 overall/#18 position; Amorion Walker, 0.8784, #517 overall/#33 position (ATH)
Slots: 3-4

Tobias Merriweather‘s commitment seems rock solid. CJ Williams, on the other hand, continues to talk to USC, while Amorion Walker supposedly says all the right things to the Irish staff but continues to talk with Michigan. Receivers, bruh… Whether the staff will take a fourth receiver in this class has taken a back seat right now to hanging on to the three they have. We’re very cautiously optimistic that Williams and Walker will stay in the class and sign early, but it’s really anyone’s guess at this point.

Tight End

Commits: Eli Raridon, 0.9283, #178 overall/#5 position; Holden Staes, 0.9033, #271 overall/#11 position
Slots: 2

Eli Raridon jumped 260 spots in the 247 Composite rankings since the last time we met, thanks to an absurdly dominant senior season. That Holden Staes dude is pretty good too. Tight End U rolls on. As you might imagine, the staff is done at this position.

Offensive Line

Commits: OT Aamil Wagner, 0.9457, #127 overall/#12 position; OT Ty Chan, 0.9439, #135 overall/#14 position; OT Joey Tanona, 0.9392, #152 overall/#15 position; OT Ashton Craig, 0.8784, #500 overall/#40 position
Slots: 4-5

Aamil Wagner shocked the entire college football recruiting world when he announced for Notre Dame last month. In fact, judging from his family’s expressions when he picked the Notre Dame hat off the table, he just might have shocked everyone. Many assumed that Kentucky adding his brother in a GA role sealed the deal there. Obviously not, however. Wagner will need some time to fill out but has a very high ceiling; Friend of the Stripes Jamie Uyeyama, the ace recruiting analyst at IrishSportsDaily.com, set his comp as “a meaner Ronnie Stanley.” Cool, cool…

The big remaining fish here is Billy Schrauth, who has wavered between Notre Dame and Wisconsin more or less continuously since April. There are signs this race is coming to a close finally, though, and it looks like Notre Dame has the momentum as the finish line draws near. Don’t count Wisconsin out though – they haven’t let a blue chip offensive lineman out of state since 19-dickety-2.

Defensive Line

Commits: DL Tyson Ford, 0.9431, #140 overall/#22 position; DL Aiden Gobaira, 0.9166, #212 overall/#27 position; DL Donovan Hinish, 0.8796, #496 overall, #71 position
Slots: 4

Texas A&M has been the presumed leader for Anthony Lucas for a long time now. His comments that Notre Dame was “cold” on his visit for the USC game – which was definitely not cold by northern standards – didn’t bode well for the Irish. Somewhat surprisingly, then, he hosted Marcus Freeman for an in-home visit this week. We still think this is a long shot but credit to CMF for taking his swing… Hero Kanu has kicked around the idea of additional visits to Notre Dame and Oklahoma due to their coaching changes. We still like Ohio State to win it, but again, Freeman will keep swinging.

Linebackers

Commits: Jaylen Sneed, 0.9834, #35 overall/#3 position; Josh Burnham, 0.9508, #118 overall/#9 position; Niuafe Tuihalamaka, 0.9406 overall, #148 overall/#14 position; Nolan Ziegler, 0.9000, #300 overall/#31 position
Slots: 4

Since last we met, Jaylen Sneed picked up a fifth star in the 247 Composite, Josh Burnham was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Michigan, Junior Tuihalamaka was tapped for the All-American game, and Nolan Ziegler was named the Michigan AP Player of the Year for his division.

Oh, and all four made the 16-man semifinalist for the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top linebacker. Sneed and Burnham made the final group of six; the award eventually went to Alabama commit Shawn Murphy, but the strong Irish presence among those under consideration is remarkable. The first ever high school award went to Manti Te’o in 2008; it also went to Jaylon Smith in 2012 and Prince Kollie in 2020. Maybe they’re just tired of giving it to Notre Dame players…

Defensive Backs

Commits: CB Jaden Mickey, 0.9208, #201 overall/#25 position; CB Benjamin Morrison, 0.8958, #324 overall/#34 position; CB Jayden Bellamy, 0.8830, #444 overall/#42 position

The Irish were dealt a couple of gut punches over the last week with this group. Devin Moore backed off his Notre Dame commitment after Brian Kelly bolted for LSU. There were whispers that he was starting to waver anyway, so we can’t be sure it’s 100% related to Kelly’s departure, but that at least provided a convenient excuse. Freeman just went in-home yesterday in an attempt to reel him back in; there’s some cause for optimism here but Florida looms large. Their recent theft of Corey Raymond from LSU’s staff – the one guy their fans most wanted Kelly to keep, since he’s widely viewed as an excellent recruiter and position coach – is a mark in their favor as well. We at least have a little Miracle Max style silver lining there if we do lose Moore…

The other big blow was the commitment of elite safety Xavier Nwankpa to Iowa on Wednesday. Notre Dame faded in the latter days of the Kelly tenure, but got back into it briefly after the Freeman hire when Nwankpa reached out to restart the conversation. He was a perfect fit for the university in every way, would’ve played next year, and his parents reportedly favored Notre Dame. But, like AJ Epenesa and Allen Lazard before him, he’s an elite Iowa talent who prefers to stay close to home. Such is life…

An offer just went out to Michigan athlete Koen Entringer this week, who projects as a safety at the next level. Entringer is a late arrival to football, only picking it up in his sophomore year; while he’s raw, he can fly and he hits like a truck. We’re not sure how serious the pursuit is here yet but it’s definitely something to monitor.