Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 NOV. 13, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP RECRUITING NOTES • Notre Dame's newest com- mitment in the 2023 class, Drayk Bowen, planned to visit South Bend next when the Irish host Georgia Tech Nov. 20. However, when Bowen — the nation's No. 2 outside line- backer and No. 22 overall prospect per Rivals — learned that Pickering- ton (Ohio) Central's Alex "Sonny" Styles — Rivals' No. 1 "athlete" and No. 6 overall player in the country — would be visiting for the Navy game Nov. 6, he moved up his visit. Styles, who is a natural fit for Notre Dame's rover position, also visited South Bend for the Cincin- nati game Oct. 2. Bowen was also on campus that day. "I really like Drayk," Styles said. "He's a guy who works hard and you can tell by the way he carries himself how disciplined he is. That's a guy I'd want to play with." Styles, who is the younger brother of Irish freshman receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr., has a top-five schools list of Clemson, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Mississippi. The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish have been after him for more than a year and seem to be the two lead schools for the five-star prospect. • Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne class of 2022 offensive tackle Aamil Wagner will announce a commitment Nov. 11, and his final five schools are Kentucky, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State. Notre Dame hosted Wagner for an official visit over the summer and again for the USC game Oct. 23, but it's quite the battle for the four-star prospect. Kentucky is considered the favorite for Wagner — his older brother, Ahmad, is currently on the Wildcats' staff as a graduate assistant. Rivals ranks Wagner as America's No. 23 offensive tackle and No. 202 overall player in the 2022 cycle. • A top priority for Notre Dame to round out the 2022 class strong is to land Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk's Xavier Nwankpa, the nation's No. 1 safety and No. 14 overall player per Rivals. However, if Nwankpa chooses the in-state Iowa Hawkeyes as many pun- dits suspect he may do, it would not come as a surprise if the Fighting Irish target Benicia (Calif.) High's Croix Stewart, who Rivals ranks as a three-star prospect, but On3 — a new recruiting media company — has him ranked as a four-star prospect, and the nation's No. 30 cornerback and No. 264 overall player. The Irish are high on Stewart's talents as a safety. — Mike Singer Quarterback Steve Angeli, 6-3, 215, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Walker Howard, 6-0, 186, Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More) Running Back Jadarian Price, 5-11, 175, Denison, Texas (Denison) Wide Receiver Xayvion Bradshaw, 6-0, 185, Bluefield, Va. (Graham) Joseph Griffin, 6-4, 195, Springfield, Mass. (Central) Wesley Grimes, 6-2, 173, Raleigh, N.C. (Millbrook) 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) 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) Anthony Lucas, 6-5, 285, Scottsdale, Ariz. (Chaparral) Defensive Tackle Donovan Hinish, 6-2, 270, Pittsburgh (Central Catholic) Hero Kanu, 6-5, 293, Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. (Santa Margarita Catholic) 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 Nov. 5 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits 1. Georgia 21 2. Alabama 18 3. Notre Dame 21 4. Penn State 25 5. Texas 22 6. Ohio State 16 7. Oregon 20 8. Oklahoma 17 9. North Carolina 15 10. Florida State 16 Follow @MikeTSinger on Twitter for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! Pickerington (Ohio) Central's Alex "Sonny" Styles, Rivals' No. 6 over- all player in the country, visited Notre Dame for the Navy game Nov. 6. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM