Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1449639
42 MARCH 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2022 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE OFFENSIVE LINEMEN Signed: Ty Chan of Groton (Mass.) Lawrence Academy, Ashton Craig of Lawrenceberg (Ind.) High, Billy Schr- auth of Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary's Springs, Joey Tanona of Zionsville (Ind.) High and Aamil Wagner of Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne Overview: It all starts up front, and the Notre Dame coaching staff realizes that. The Irish nabbed five offensive line- men in the class, and four of them are four-star prospects per the On3 Con- sensus. The only three-star recruit in the group is Craig. According to On3's rank- ing system, Wagner is a five-star prospect and the No. 3 offensive tackle nationally. Freeman's first recruiting stop as Notre Dame's head coach was to see an unde- cided Schrauth in Wisconsin. The trip paid off with a commitment in the days after the visit and a signing a week later. Deemed "O-Line U" by many who follow the sport, Notre Dame is in good hands at the position now and in the future. On Paper Grade: A DEFENSIVE LINEMEN Signed: Tyson Ford of St. Louis John Burroughs School, Aiden Gobaira of Chantilly (Va.) High and Donovan Hin- ish of Pittsburgh Central Catholic Overview: It's going to be weird for Irish fans not to see the painted face of Kurt Hinish with the program anymore, but the next best thing has to be imme- diately bringing in his younger brother, right? Donovan Hinish isn't the high- est-rated recruit, but if he's anything like his older brother then Notre Dame is getting a good one. Ford, meanwhile, is a highly rated prospect. He's the No. 13 defensive line- man in the class according to the On3 Consensus. At 6-6, 267 pounds, he has the body of a big-time pass rusher right now. Just wait until he goes through an offseason with Notre Dame strength and conditioning coach Matt Balis. With strong-side end Myron Tago- vailoa-Amosa having departed the pro- gram, it was important for Notre Dame to focus on defensive end depth. The Irish did just that with Ford and Gob- aira, a fellow four-star who is rated the No. 19 edge rusher in the class per the On3 Consensus. On Paper Grade: B LINEBACKERS Signed: Joshua Burnham of Traverse City (Mich.) Central, Jaylen Sneed of Four-star offensive lineman Billy Schrauth of Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary's Springs was one of Marcus Freeman's top priorities after being named Notre Dame's head coach in early December. PHOTO BY MIKE SINGER