Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 OCT. 2, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP RECRUITING NOTES • Notre Dame had a couple of surprise visitors when it hosted Purdue Sept. 18. Downey (Calif.) Warren's Nico Iamaleava, the nation's No. 4 pro- style quarterback and No. 48 overall player in the 2023 class per Rivals, and Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei class of 2024 wide receiver Jack Ressler flew out to South Bend late Friday night, and they left campus the following evening armed with new offers from the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame joins Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State and Oregon on Iamaleava's offer sheet. The Irish may have been a few months behind some other schools in offering, but Iamaleava strongly stated that it won't negatively impact Brian Kelly's program in his recruitment. "Definitely not," he said. "The experience I had with the coaches and the environment definitely impacted my recruitment." Although it was a short visit, the trip to Notre Dame made a big impres- sion on Iamaleava. The Irish should be considered a top contender already for the four-star gunslinger. "The coaches, the family environment and the tradition was just amaz- ing," he continued. "It would great to be a part of it. The coaches were re- ally loving. A lot of coaches won't talk to you at the games, but these guys were really hands-on, and I really enjoyed my time over there — the most on any visit I've been to." The experience couldn't have gone much better for Ressler, who stands at 5-11, 194 pounds. "It was great," he said. "We started the day off by heading to the train- ing facility and had the lunch. We had a photo shoot and met some of the coaches. I talked with (wide recievers) coach Del Alexander. We went over to the stadium and watched the team. The atmosphere of Notre Dame is second to none. It definitely gave me chills." • When Notre Dame hosts USC Oct. 23, it will have one of its biggest recruiting weekends of the Brian Kelly era. One of the prospects due in is Carlsbad (Calif.) High's Julian Sayin, a class of 2024 four-star talent per Rivals. Sayin became Notre Dame's first quarterback offer of the 2024 cycle in early June and visited campus later that month. The Fighting Irish are considered an early team to beat for the elite prospect. 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 Carson Tabaracci, 6-3, 230, Park Hill, Utah (Park Hill) Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2022 Scholarship Offer Master List 2022 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: None. RIVALS 2022 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Sept. 24 1. Notre Dame 21 2. Penn State 25 3. Texas 21 4. Oregon 20 5. Georgia 17 6. Florida State 18 7. Ohio State 14 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! Downey (Calif.) Warren's Nico Iamaleava, the nation's No. 4 pro-style quarterback and No. 48 overall player in the 2023 class per Rivals, vis- ited Notre Dame for the Purdue game and left South Bend with an offer from the Irish. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER