Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1432997
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2021 37 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ROUNDUP RECRUITING NOTES • Notre Dame is in the market for a second quarterback in the 2022 re- cruiting class to go along with Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic's Steve Angeli, a Rivals three-star recruit and an Under Armour All-American. The big Notre Dame recruiting news in October was Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More five-star quarterback and LSU commit Walker Howard officially visiting the Fighting Irish, but it seems unlikely that he flips his pledge. Notre Dame expanded its quarterback board in Novem- ber when it offered Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon's Devin Brown, Rivals' No. 4 pro-style passer and No. 48 overall player in the country. Brown is a longtime USC commit, but with Clay Helton fired as the Trojans' coach, Brown has taken a closer look at Ohio State, Ole Miss and Texas. Notre Dame may host Brown for a visit in December. Flower Mound (Texas) High's Nick Evers, the nation's No. 4 dual-threat quarterback and the No. 198 overall prospect per Rivals, has been in contact with Notre Dame recently but hasn't received an offer yet. Evers is committed to Florida, but the Gators fired their head coach Dan Mullen. • Despite USC not having a head coach, the interim staff has been work- ing on a pair of Notre Dame class of 2022 commits from Southern Califor- nia. Mission Hills (Calif.) Bishop Alemany's Niuafe "Junior" Tuihalamaka, the country's No. 6 inside linebacker and No. 158 overall recruit per Rivals, visited USC Nov. 20 when the Trojans were crushed by UCLA 62-33. Sources indicate that Tuihalamaka is locked in with the Irish, but Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei's CJ Williams, the No. 6 wide receiver and No. 45 overall player in America per Rivals, is a different story. Williams is set on taking an official visit to USC after they hire a head coach, with the strong allure of staying close to home and continuing the Mater Dei to USC pipeline. He's also considering taking an official visit to UCLA before the December signing period, too. Notre Dame will have an in-home visit with him after the Stanford game and hopes to keep him locked in with the Irish. • Findlay (Ohio) High two-way lineman Luke Montgomery announced a top six of Clemson, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Penn State Nov. 19. Rivals ranks Montgomery as the No. 7 offensive tackle and No. 82 overall prospect in the 2023 class, but Notre Dame sees his talents best translating to the interior of its defensive line. Sources believe that Montgomery will ultimately choose between Notre Dame and Ohio State. — Mike Singer Quarterback Steve Angeli, 6-3, 215, Oradell, N.J. (Bergen Catholic) Walker Howard, 6-0, 186, Lafayette, La. (St. Thomas More) Devin Brown, 6-2, 185, Draper, Utah (Corner Canyon) 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 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 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) Punter Bryce McFerson, 6-1, 181, Indian Trail, N.C. (Metrolina Christian Academy) Commitments in bold italics Class Of 2022 Scholarship Offer Master List 2022 Master List Changes Prospects Committed: None. Prospects Decommitted: None. Prospects Removed: S Austin Ausberry of Baton Rouge (no longer being recruited by Notre Dame). RIVALS 2022 TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS As of Nov. 24 1. Georgia 23 2. Alabama 19 3. Notre Dame 23 4. Texas A&M 18 5. Penn State 25 6. Texas 22 7. Ohio State 16 8. Oklahoma 17 9. North Carolina 16 10. Oregon 19 Rk. School Commits Rk. School Commits Follow @MikeTSinger on Twitter for daily recruiting updates on BlueandGold.com! Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon's Devin Brown, the nation's No. 5 pro-style quarterback and No. 48 overall player per Rivals, is a USC commit and Notre Dame's latest 2022 signal-caller offer. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM