Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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46 OCT. 9, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP RECRUITING NOTES • Notre Dame has a quarterback commitment in the 2022 class with Or- adell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic's Steve Angeli on board, but with the possibility of transfers after this season, the Irish staff is keeping its options open for a second signal-caller in the class. The Fighting Irish had a very notable recruit on campus Oct. 2 when Lafay- ette (La.) St. Thomas More's Walker Howard, the nation's No. 2 pro-style quarterback and No. 26 overall player per Rivals, visited for the Cincinnati game. Howard has not publicly announced that he's received an offer from the Fighting Irish, but sources indicate that the staff would welcome the five-star to its 2022 class if he would like in. However, he has been committed to LSU since June 12, 2020, and it would be a surprise if that changed. Howard's father was a quarterback for the Tigers from 1992-95, throwing for 6,158 yards and 34 touchdowns during his career. If not Walker, will Notre Dame still sign a second quarterback in the 2022 class? Only time will tell. • Notre Dame had an elite group of defensive prospects visit campus for its game against Cincinnati. Adding Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy's Samuel M'Pemba to Notre Dame's class as an additional vyper to Tampa (Fla.) Berkeley Prep's Keon Keeley would be icing on the cake. M'Pemba — Rivals' No. 2 athlete and No. 19 overall prospect nationally— got his first look at Notre Dame during Cincinnati weekend. An additional edge defensive lineman may not be a need for the Irish, but an interior player is in the 2023 class. Findlay (Ohio) High's Luke Montgom- ery, the No. 82 overall player in America per Rivals, is a top-of-the-board target for Notre Dame at defensive tackle. The staff was excited to have him back on campus. At the second level, it was superb for the Irish to have Pickerington (Ohio) Central's Alex Styles, a five-star recruit, back on campus. He and Merrill- ville (Ind.) Andrean's Drayk Bowen, Rivals' No. 2 outside linebacker in the land, are considered Notre Dame's top linebacker targets and spent time together on campus. They visited Clemson together earlier this month and have become good friends. • Notre Dame has a pledge from Ponchatoula (La.) High wide receiver Amorion Walker, a three-star Rivals recruit, but he should be considered a very soft commitment to the Irish. In September, Walker visited Michigan, and during the weekend of Oct. 2, he made a trip to Alabama, a program that offered him over the summer. In-state LSU remains a factor as well. Walker remains committed to Notre Dame on paper, but it seems at this point he's more likely to end up elsewhere. Quarterback Steve Angeli, 6-3, 215, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Walker Howard, 6-0, 186, Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More) 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 Oct. 1 1. Notre Dame 21 2. Penn State 25 3. Texas 21 4. Oregon 20 5. Alabama 15 6. Georgia 16 7. Florida State 18 8. Ohio State 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! Class of 2022 five-star quarter- back Walker Howard, an LSU commit from Lafayette La., vis- ited Notre Dame the weekend of Oct. 2. PHOTO BY SAM SPIEGELMAN