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Notre Dame Football Recruiting: What does the loss of Jack Nickel mean?

By Andrew Hall

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 01: Joe Wilkins Jr. #18 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michael Mayer #87 celebrates during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl football game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at AT&T Stadium on January 01, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-14. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - JANUARY 01: Joe Wilkins Jr. #18 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michael Mayer #87 celebrates during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl football game against the Alabama Crimson Tide at AT&T Stadium on January 01, 2021 in Arlington, Texas. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 31-14. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /
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The 2022 Notre Dame football recruiting class suffered a de-commitment on Tuesday evening when tight end Jack Nickel dropped his pledge.

The Alpharetta, Georgia native originally committed to Notre Dame on July 27, 2020. However, Jack Nickel backed off that commitment on Tuesday evening, and the loss of Nickel leaves the 2022 class with 11 pledges.

The group still ranks as the 4th best class in the country, according to the 247Sports composite.

The impact of losing Nickel is extremely minimal. According to the 247Sports composite, Nickel ranks as the 480th prospect and 23rd tight end in the nation. As a prospect, he ranked as the second to last player in the 2022 Notre Dame football recruiting class.

Only recent wide receiver commitment Amorion Walker ranked lower at 773rd.

The causes of his de-commitment are unknown. However, the Irish continued to pursue another Georgia tight end, Holden Staes. The Westminster School product ranks as the 267th recruit and 10th tight end. He holds offers from 25 schools including Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, and Texas. Notre Dame is currently the favorite to land Staes.

Penn State is close behind.

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Ultimately, if the Irish staff lands a commitment from Staes while losing a pledge from Nickel, the Notre Dame Football team is likely done adding a tight end to the mix. In 2020, Notre Dame added Michael Mayer and Kevin Bauman. In 2021, the Irish added Cane Berrong and Mitchell Evans.

The likelihood that Notre Dame adds another tight end duo in 2022 is slim.

Notre Dame Football loaded at tight end

Tight end is going to be a position of strength for this Notre Dame Football team for years to come, as Mayer is only entering his true sophomore season, and there is a ton of talent behind him. Maybe Nickel saw that the road to starting in South Bend was a tough one, or maybe he wants to go somewhere he knows he could have a legitimate chance to start as a true freshman himself.

There are many bumps along the road in any Notre Dame football recruiting class. This de-commitment might serve the Irish well in the short term by landing a higher touted prospect. However, recruiting is always an educated guess, and Nickel could always become an all-American tight end and a first-round draft pick.

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