Notre Dame broke the seal on the 2022 wide receiver group today when Amorion Walker announced for the Irish. While the staff had offered the 6’4″, 180-pound Louisianan way back in November, things heated up with him considerably over the last month or so. Walker’s frame is similar to other recent big receivers for the Irish, like Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool, and Javon McKinley. I think he’s faster than they were at this point, though, and maybe a little more agile. He’s not going to run a 4.3 anytime soon but I do think he’s a guy who will be able to get behind a defense.
C O M M I T T E D ☘️☘️ @CoachBrianKelly @T_Rees11 @dalex3333 @samspiegs @ABXperformance @Prototyp_2022 @DemetricDWarren @JimmyDetail @LABootleggers #GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/3oOhtSo4Gj
— mari6️⃣ (@AmorionWalker) March 10, 2021
For those of you interested in reading tea leaves, it’s worth noting that 2022 LB Junior Tuihalamaka, #68 overall and a key Irish target, replied to Walker’s commitment tweet with the eyes emoji 
. It’s also worth noting that Walker is good friends and 7-on-7 teammates with a pair of Irish cornerback targets in the 2022 class, #65 overall Khamauri Rogers and #112 overall Jyaire Brown. Rogers is from Mississippi; Brown lives in Ohio but only moved there recently from Louisiana.
Hmm.
Recruiting Service Rankings
247Sports Composite — 3 star (.8466 rating), #859 overall, #115 WR, #37 in LA
247Sports — 3 star (86 rating), NR overall, #92 WR, #33 in LA
Rivals — 3 star (5.5 rating), NR overall, NR position, NR in LA
ESPN — Not evaluated
Irish Sports Daily — 3 star (87 rating)
Cohort
In addition to Notre Dame, Walker holds offers from Florida State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia, among others.
Highlights
Walker shows more agility than he should at his size; that his high school also plays him at corner, and he does well there, speaks to that. He moves effortlessly enough that I’m tempted to hit him with the dreaded “deceptively fast” label. Seriously though, he has that Carlos Beltran quality of just very smoothly eating up large patches of ground. We don’t have any verified times for him, but I think his acceleration and top end speed are pretty good. Note the first play on this video, when he takes the kickoff and kind of putters along until he sees a crease around the 25. The way he hit the gas there is what got him into the end zone. The play at 1:01, where he rather suddenly drifts (an oxymoron, I know, but it seems apt) past his defender shows that deceptive speed. And the double move at 2:16 is filthy, highlighting the agility (even if the ball was badly overthrown).
I would love to see verified track times for him. If he runs, say, a 4.5 40 and a sub-4.1 shuttle at that size, look out. He displays a mix of speed, size, athleticism, and physicality – love the defensive highlights – that is intriguing.
Impact
I doubt Walker will push for time immediately. There’s too much talent ahead of him in the 2020 and 2021 classes, and he’ll probably need time to adjust to being a full-time offensive player and to add some muscle mass. I think it’s really hard right now, in most cases anyway, to take junior film for a two-way player and project anything reliable. But there’s certainly enough on tape to show promise, and I do think he brings a mix of size and speed that isn’t on the roster right now. If he’s as fast as he looks, and if he puts it together, I think he has the ceiling to be a very good starter. I’m not sure where the floor is but I’m very interested to see what happens when get gets on campus.
Welcome to the Irish family, Amorion!
Quick note on his film – he was hurt two games into his junior season and missed the rest of the year, so that film is actually mostly from his sophomore season. Even more impressive knowing that.
I hope camps can open this summer, because I’d really love to see him compete against top defenders and see what he does. That double move, like I said, is deluxe. If he can pull that off at the Opening? Wooo. And I’m interested to see a healthy senior season from him too.
He looks like he has some skills — I wonder why the sites all have him ranked so low? Is this a case of finding a steal because this kid did not get as many evaluations due to the pandemic year, or ND reaching because they are not confident in the other WR recruits this cycle?
I see some promising stuff but I’d like to see more; he couldn’t do the camp circuit between his sophomore and junior seasons and then missed almost his entire junior season. There just isn’t much out there about him. I imagine the services, and honestly probably a lot of CFB programs too, are all in the same boat.
Andrew Ivins, a 247 Miami guy and formerly a Rivals ND guy, saw Walker in person twice and had some good things to say about him. Size is legit, top speed is very good, “advanced” in his releases, a little skinny, thinks he could eventually get a ratings bump based on what he’s seen.
His highlights definitely have a lot of him running past and away from people. Certainly looks fast.
Like spider-man, I am curious why he is ranked so low. At 6’4″ and fast, it seems like that would default him to like top 500 range. I am sure he will move up rankings, but as it stands now he would be the lowest rated WR recruit of Kelly’s tenure, the next lowest being Brunelle 100 spots higher.
I just watched Boykin’s SR year highlight and they both have a similar fluidity that looks almost lazy. I would say Boykin was a better route runner and looks more elusive in small spaces, but Walker definitely looks faster (relative to the competition). I don’t really know how else to compare WR highlight tapes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What level football does he play in Louisiana?
I’m of the mindset that the more guys ND can pull out of LA, GA, AL, MS and keep them on campus the better off we are. We’re always going to be a melting pot of the country which is a great thing, but love to see us pulling some of these guys like Diggs.
Doesn’t ND hold off until they get a certified speed these days? I think it highly unlikely that Walker isn’t in the 4.5 range or better. With all that’s happened in the last 12 months, if there’s football next fall I think you might see more movement in player rankings than ever before.
For those wondering. It was a hamstring injury.
I think this is where a lot of the frustration with Angeli came from. If it’s angelia plus 3 dudes at wr/rb it’s much more palatable. You combine this with angeli, weak TE recruiting, a borderline 250 rb and it’s just a little disappointing.
This guy is ranked as the #92 wr; even if he is underrated, that makes him like a top 60 wr.
Just feels like coming off 2 playoff appearances in 3 years they wouldn’t be at a point to accept commitments this early from these level of recruits.
If they end up with sanders or brown plus another top 150 guy I think most fans, myself included, are good with this type prospect. So hopefully Nd gets things turned around with other skill guys
I’m with you.
It’s pretty obvious he’s underrated. There are currently 51(!) Composite blue-chip receivers in the 2022 class and Walker should be well in that mix. Add in the pandemic and his injury and he’ll get a bump.
But, the goal of recruiting isn’t to find hidden gems who will get sizable bumps. It’s a great ability to have but it’s not the stated goal. Like, if Walker ends up the No. 29 receiver in the class and catches
100 balls70 balls (edit: 100 balls actually would be a very good career) at Notre Dame I think people are like, “We won, great recruiting everyone!” But, ideally you’d like something better.Still, I think it’s way easier to envision someone like Walker with his tools being really successful. I’m generally more comfortable with his skill-set and Kelly’s history with lower-rated wideouts as opposed to taking someone this lowly ranked at defensive end or something.
Wait, you have a problem with JD Price? I understand the other stuff, but Price looks like a legitimately excellent prospect. And there aren’t tight ends like Michael Mayer floating around every year, either. If we land someone like Staes (who has a ton of offers) to go along with Nickel, I think that’s a pretty strong group, too.
My specific complaints with offensive recruiting currently are that (1) ND didn’t pursue Allar sooner or with more urgency and (2) they’re settling for low-hanging fruit early in the campaign at WR when we need game-changing talent. Everything else is fine or better. Lance Taylor is kicking ass and taking names, Quinn pretty much the same. We typically do an admirable job developing tight ends, too, so I don’t worry so much about who exactly we land. It’s really just the passing component that’s cloudier, but of course that’s also the most important part to get right in CFB today.
I think you’re correct about Price and Singleton or Hayden make it a dynamite RB class. Staes is a helluva prospect too, at TE. If they miss Raridon is a good backup plan.
Well put. Price is good and I thought it was pretty much acknowledged that he’s intended to be second RB in the class anyways with them targeting someone even higher. If they can pull that off, RB recruiting will be in an excellent spot in the past 2-3 cycles since Taylor has gotten up to speed.
Angeli vs. Allar, a debate that will rage for a while, but I guess we’ll see. Honestly from watching film if you didn’t know the overall rankings, I’m not so sure I wouldn’t guess their rankings were flipped, but that’s just me…As a rule though, I do think ND needs to branch out more for the stud QB’s and work harder and recruit more elite QB’s, everything else branches from that.
On the WR front, it does seem disappointing, but I feel like the benefit of the doubt is needed now, given 2020-21 circumstances with a pandemic and all. Plus, I mean, look at when ND does get highly rated WR’s (McKinley, Austin, Johnson) doesn’t automatically mean a ton of production, for one reason or the other. That’s just anecdotes, but I’m willing to give it more time. Plus that’s a spot where you have 10-11 scholarships, 2-3 per class so taking flyers on kids like Walker may pay off…Especially since he has the size and perhaps is under-rated athletically.
Overall with a macro view, I think ND’s talent level for WR in the 2021 class is a really good thing and hopefully they can trend that way.
It would be nice, though, to get some new highly ranked WR recruits who actually pan out like Floyd and Tate (who both seem so far away in the past now)
We really have underwhelmed at WR recruiting under BK. But the development has been there.
All the 4 star recruits
2010
TJ Jones (#85) – Check
2011
Davaris Daniels (#92) – He was on pace to look like a top #100 recruit, but I could go either way with him.
2012
Davonte Neal (#54) – He Gone. Nothing to develop.
2013
Torii Hunter Jr (#204) – Developed about right for his ranking.
Will Fuller (#276) – CHECK
James Onwualu – lead the team! in TFL
2014
Justin Brent (#94) – FAIL. Totally forgot about this guy and his potential.
Corey Holmes (#179) – FAIL. 2014 was a flop.
2015
Equanimeous St. Brown (#160) – Check
Miles Boykin (#196) – Check
CJ Sanders (#283) – nope (along with all slot WRs).
2016
Javon McKinley (#110) – nice SR year, but not up to his ranking.
Chase Claypool (#169) – Check
2017
Womp – nope
Womp – nope
2018
Kevin Austin (#82) – oh please please please please
Braden Lenzy (#215) – see Kevin Austin
Lawrence Keys (#286) – he’s a slot WR, so doubtful
2019
Womp – nope
Womp – nope
Basically, we have developed our good recruits quite well, outside of the 2014 class. The issue, is how small this list is. 16 over 10 years!
+1 for the research there. They do need more all around in quantity and quality. Alabama is the gold standard but after next month they will have had 4 WR in the first round in the last 2 years. Just astounding, as if they’re playing a different sport, or we’re living in a simulation where they are the player of an NCAA 2014 game doing their recruiting and everyone else is just along for the ride.
Given that almost all of us believe a championship level QB and a flock of elite receivers is what it will take to get us to the promised land, I don’t see this contributing to that goal. The real game changers at receiver on the elite teams tend to play immediately. The expectation for this fellow is he’ll sit behind a bunch of guys who sat behind a pretty average 2020 receiving corps.
we need to do better.
I think it’s pretty clear that ND thinks they’re better at talent identification than the recruiting services. There is some evidence for this, both in terms of one-off successes (JOK, being in on Hamilton early, etc.), and the data indicates that their 3-stars get drafted at a higher rate than the average 3-star.
That said, every 3-star commitment should be viewed as presumptively disappointing. The staff’s genuine hit rate is still very low: after this draft, and assuming Book gets drafted (which isn’t a safe assumption), ND will have seven 3-star draft picks in seven years. That just isn’t enough to legitimately compete for national titles when half your roster is comprised of 3-stars.
Of course, we can’t get all blue-chips, but you want to be in a situation where your non-draft-pick-level 3-stars that “hit” (e.g., Drew White, Hinish) are among the team’s worst starters than among your best.
For that last part, the issue morphs to being that White is a lot better of a college MLB than Lamb, a top 100 recruit. Obviously I think your macro point about getting more 4* than 3* is going to pay off in the long run bringing in more talent, but to me the 3*’s that Notre Dame gets and develops isn’t really the main issue….
I’d point out at least recently, the problem has been the 4*’s that aren’t quite panning out as top-end starters when (sticking with defense) that high-end recruits like Lamb, Simon, Allen, Griffith (and maybe even throw Lacey and Ademoila in there) aren’t/didn’t become good starting players, which then the team has to open the doors more for lower players to get the opportunity to be productive.
Not sure what the answer is, but throwing more 4 stars in the mix isn’t solving the issue, as of yet. As in you can have Bauer and Lamb as higher ranked ‘croots, but if they don’t really develop to the point where White is still the superior player, then that to me is the real issue.
Not that ND might hit or miss on the “projects” they take, but that what should hopefully be more of “sure things” as 4* players haven’t really panned out. To me, that’s an interesting and perhaps unexplored angle. 3 stars stand out and maybe get too much attention for over-achieving, but how are the ND 4 stars doing? As of lately it feels like they have disappointed in the big picture. How true and accurate that really is though, I’m not sure.
This sounds like a perfect off-season article topic for 18S — success of 5, 4, and 3 star players under BK. And success/failure can be defined in different ways, such as awards, NFL draft position, flop –> early transfer, academic issues, etc. Sure individual players reaching success/failure tend to stick out anecdotally, but what do the overall patterns look like for ND?
I think that’s a totally fair and good point. It does seem like ND doesn’t do all that much worse with the high 3-stars than the low 4-stars in recent years. Maybe the more precise thing to say would be to say that “any recruit with a Composite average below .91 is presumptively disappointing”. It’s a presumption, of course. And, conversely, those above that are only presumptively exciting. Sometimes they turn out to be total busts, of course.
But, based on the raw numbers (again: seven 3-star draft picks in seven years), most of our three stars really should be three stars. If you follow any of the recruiting sites, it seems like about nine of every ten three-star recruit we sign either should be a four-star or “has four-star qualities” to the point where that is a trope. The raw numbers indicate that closer to 10% of our three-stars should be four stars, not 90%.
That last part is def. right on. Part par for the course of running recruiting sites and keeping interest up (and also justifying what the program sees to show knowledge) of just saying “oh yeah, fast riser, under the radar guy!”
Take Walker as the subject of this post. Out of Louisana. If he had a good shot at a big time future do we think LSU wouldn’t be in on him? Even ND’s best recruits from there, like Tillery or Diggs the RB, LSU wanted them badly. So that becomes more reasonable on a case like Diggs to say perhaps he truly is a bit better than the national rankings with the offer sheet to back it up. Don’t have that here.
I get you’re talking about presumption, and that’s fair to presume. My mind just goes to the bigger picture, if you’re saying “any recruit with a Composite average below .91 is presumptively disappointing”, which I find reasonable, my train of thought is why or what is happening from the .91-.93/.94 range. Seems like ND has some holes there, at least in recent years.
I bet Walker gets an offer from LSU before this is over. They’ll come sniffin around at least. Diggs’ offer from LSU came in very late. @I wonder how much heat their staff took for that?@
I see this this kid as Chris Brown without that very top gear but, a better football player. I just don’t see ND offering a committable offer at this time unless they were pretty sure of their evaluation.