Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 SEPT. 11, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP RECRUITING NOTES • Sept. 1 marked the first day that Notre Dame could directly contact recruits in the 2023 class. Prior to Sept. 1, the class of 2023 prospects had to make the phone calls. They could text message a college coach, but the coach was not allowed to respond. But again, that all changed on Sept. 1 when 2023 recruits officially became high school juniors in the eyes of the NCAA. The Notre Dame staff contacted more than 100 recruits, whether that be top-of-the-board targets or players who the staff has not offered a scholarship to but is monitoring. • Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees had a 7 a.m. video chat call with Detroit Martin Luther King's Dante Moore, the nation's No. 2 pro-style quarterback and No. 35 overall player, and Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Carnell Tate, the No. 8 wide receiver and No. 68 overall recruit in America. Moore and Tate, both juniors, are good friends and visited Notre Dame together back in June. Rees is leading the Irish's charge in recruiting the star class of 2023 recruits. "It was 7 a.m. so Carnell and I were both sleepy, but we were still laughing and talking ball," Moore said. "It was a good time checking in on each other." • Notre Dame has 21 commitments in its 2022 class, and 11 of those recruits play on the defensive side of the ball. From what Blue & Gold Illustrated sources are told, Notre Dame may only add one additional defensive player in the 2022 cycle. The most likely candidates for that spot seem to be Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk's Xavier Nwankpa, a Rivals' five-star re- cruit and the nation's No. 1 safety, and Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral's Anthony Lucas, the No. 7 strong- side defensive end and No. 80 overall recruit in the land. Both prospects are expected to unof- ficially visit Notre Dame when the Irish host USC Oct. 23. • Notre Dame has a few spots left to use offensively, and it will be interesting to see where the staff ends up using them. The Irish could add two additional offensive line prospects, another wide receiver and/or a running back prospect. The Irish staff will use early senior footage from this fall to help them determine if they need to offer any new prospects. — Mike Singer Quarterback Steve Angeli, 6-3, 215, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Running Back Quinshon Judkins, 6-0, 201, Pike Road, Ala. (Pike Road) Jadarian Price, 5-11, 175, Denison, Texas (Denison) Wide Receiver Xayvion Bradshaw, 6-0, 185, Bluefield, Va. (Graham) Major Everhart, 5-11, 175, Amarillo, Texas (Tascosa) Joseph Griffin, 6-4, 195, Springfield, Mass. (Central) Tobias Merriweather, 6-4, 180, Vancouver, Wash. (Union) Amorion Walker, 6-3, 170, Ponchatoula, La. (Ponchatoula) CJ Williams, 6-2, 193, Santa Ana, Calif. (Mater Dei) Tight End Eli Raridon, 6-6, 220, West Des Moines, Iowa (Valley) Holden Staes, 6-4, 230, Atlanta (Westminster) Offensive Line Ty Chan, 6-6, 265, Groton, Mass. (Lawrence Academy) Ashton Craig, 6-5, 275, Lawrenceburg, Ind. (Lawrenceburg) Zach Rice, 6-6, 305, Lynchburg, Va. (Liberty Christian) Billy Schrauth, 6-5, 280, Fond du Lac, Wis. (St. Mary's Springs) Joey Tanona, 6-5, 290, Zionsville, Ind. (Zionsville) Aamil Wagner, 6-6, 255, Huber Heights, Ohio (Wayne) Defensive End Alex Bauman, 6-4, 225, Red Bank, N.J. (Red Bank Catholic) Tyson Ford, 6-6, 250, St. Louis (John Burroughs School) Aiden Gobaira, 6-5, 225, Chantilly, Va. (Chantilly) Cyrus Moss, 6-4, 220, Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) DJ Wesolak, 6-5, 225, Boonville, Mo. (Boonville) Defensive Tackle Donovan Hinish, 6-2, 270, Pittsburgh (Central Catholic) Hero Kanu, 6-5, 293, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic) Anthony Lucas, 6-5, 285, Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral) Linebacker Joshua Burnham, 6-3, 200, Traverse City, Mich. (Traverse City Central) Jaylen Sneed, 6-1, 207, Hilton Head, S.C. (Hilton Head) Niuafe Tuihalamaka, 6-3, 230, Mission Hills, Calif. (Bishop Alemany) Nolan Ziegler, 6-4, 205, Grand Rapids, Mich. (Catholic Central) Cornerback Austin Ausberry, Baton Rouge, La. (University Laboratory School) Jayden Bellamy, 6-1, 175, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Jaden Mickey, 5-11, 165, Corona, Calif. (Centennial) Devin Moore, 6-3, 182, Naples, Fla. (Naples) Benjamin Morrison, 6-0, 172, Phoenix (Brophy Prep) Safety Xavier Nwankpa, 6-2, 185, Pleasant Hill, Iowa (Southeast Polk) Athlete None Commitments in bold italics * Received an offer between Aug. 17 and Sep. 2 Class Of 2022 Scholarship Offer Master List 2022 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: WR Elic Ayomanor of Deerfield, Mass. (committed to Stanford); WR Andre Greene Jr. of Richmond, Va. (no longer considering Notre Dame); and DE Ernest Cooper of Arlington, Texas (no longer being recruited by Notre Dame). RIVALS 2022 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Sept. 3 1. Notre Dame 21 2. Penn State 24 3. Florida State 18 4. Texas 20 5. Oregon 19 6. Ohio State 14 7. Georgia 16 8. Alabama 14 9. LSU 15 10. Texas A&M 14 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Follow @rivals_singer on Twitter for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk's Xavier Nwankpa, a Rivals' five-star recruit and the nation's No. 1 safety, is arguably Notre Dame's most important target left on the 2022 board. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM