Notre Dame football recruiting: Can the 2022 class finish in the top-5?
By Andrew Hall
New defensive coordinator, Marcus Freeman’s impact on Notre Dame football recruiting is being felt early, as the Irish push for their first top-5 class since 2013.
On Sunday, the 2022 Notre Dame football recruiting class added their 18th commitment from Naples (Fla.) safety prospect Devin Moore. The class currently sits at 2nd in the 247Sports composite team rankings behind Ohio State, so it begs the question, can the staff keep up the pace and finish inside the top-5 in the team rankings?
Currently, according to the 247Sports composite, the Irish are averaging 90.51 per recruit. In other words, the average player in the 2022 Notre Dame football recruiting class is a 4-star, top 250 recruit.
This is a very solid average but it will not land the Irish in the top-5.
In the past few years, the lowest recruit is just under 92.00 while signing less than 25 recruits. If the Irish signed more than 25 recruits, it would be possible to keep the current average and finish in the top-5.
However, it is unlikely that Notre Dame football will sign more than 25 prospects. Over the past five seasons, the Irish classes typically inked 23 prospects, and with 18 total verbals, Notre Dame likely tries to land five more prospects in this class.
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Who does Notre Dame football need to land?
The good news for the Notre Dame football recruiting staff is that they can focus on the remaining unsigned prospects. Who does the Irish need to sign to land in the top-5 of the team rankings?
Linebacker Jaylen Sneed, wide receiver C.J. Williams, wide receiver Tobias Merriweather, offensive linemen Billy Schrauth, and cornerback Benjamin Morrison are five prospects that are likely to fall Notre Dame’s way. If they added these prospects, the Irish likely finishes inside the top-10 but unlikely in the top-5.
The Notre Dame staff likely needs to add one or a few of the top prospects on the board, like 5-star offensive tackle Zach Rice, defensive end Cyrus Moss, and/or safety Xavier Nwankpa.
All things considered, the saying, “Shoot for the moon. If you miss, you’ll land amongst the stars,” is very applicable. Notre Dame football faces an uphill battle to crack the elite quintet of recruiting classes.
However, defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman and the rest of the Notre Dame football recruiting staff put the Irish in an excellent position.
Their hard work makes it almost impossible that Notre Dame does not finish inside the top 10 classes of 2022.