Notre Dame football has established itself as one of the great programs in college football again. However, they’ve been running into a hill that they’ve struggled to climb. That’s consistently beating elite teams. They’ve struggled to do that because they’ve struggled to recruit at the highest level. This has led to depth issues when compared to a team like Alabama, and tend to prevent winning those games.
One of the great things about Marcus Freeman is that he is an elite recruiter. So, over time, this is an issue that should be corrected. The Class of 2022 is partially his doing. He is, certainly, responsible for the defensive players coming in. Meanwhile, the offensive players he largely didn’t get to recruit, but he did get them to stay when there was a coaching change.
According to 247 Sports, Notre Dame’s Class of 2022 is ranked 7th in the country. There is some room for that to change with the second signing day. However, given that most of the signings come at the early signing day, this is right about where the Irish will finish.
Compare this to their past three classes, which have finished 9th, 18th, and 15th respectively, and Notre Dame football looks to be heading in the right direction.
At least a few of these players are going to have a major impact next season. So, here are a few of those great players who could have a major impact on Notre Dame football in 2022:
Notre Dame Football: 3 Instant impact players from the 2022 Class
Jaylen Sneed
5-Star Linebacker
Jaylen Sneed is the top-ranked prospect in Notre Dame’s 2022 class. Sneed is from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, where he established himself as an excellent linebacker. He’s actually the third ranked linebacker in the entire country, and the 35th best player overall. He signed with Notre Dame over 35 other schools that offered him a scholarship, including Alabama, Oregon, and Arkansas.
Sneed is primarily an outside linebacker or edge rusher type player. He can play with his hand in the ground or standing up, and is known for his motor. As a player, he’s explosive and can keep blockers off him, while still being a consistently great tackler.
You’ll likely see Sneed making an impact early for Notre Dame because how this raw talent and upside. He also plays a position that it’s important to rotate and have depth at. This will give him plenty of opportunities to play and prove himself, even if he doesn’t immediately come in and start for Notre Dame. This will, in turn, be key experience for Sneed as he should grow into one of the defense’s best players.
Sneed is already projected, before any development in college, to be a second or third round pick.
Notre Dame Football: 3 Instant impact players from the 2022 Class
Jaden Mickey
4-Star Corner
Jaden Mickey is the highest rated corner in Notre Dame’s 2022 class, from Corona, California. He’s the 25th ranked corner in the country and the 200th overall player in the country. He held 18 other offers, including offers from USC, Arizona, and Georgia.
Mickey is an undersized corner, who is going to need to spend time in the weight room to compete at the highest level in the FBS. At 5ft 11in, he has good length to work with, but at only 155lbs, there is room to grow into the role. With good weight training, he has the frame to grow quickly in and develop into a good corner.
That’s going to be important for Notre Dame moving forward. Corner is a position of weakness for the Irish right now. There is a lack of depth and they need help immediately. It’s good to have a few players coming back. D.J. Brown will be back at safety, for instance. Houston Griffith will be too. Brandon Joseph, an All-American defensive back, is entering the program as a transfer too. However, there are still major depth issues at corner.
Jaden Mickey can fill some of those gaps, particularly as a depth corner for dime packages. Against teams like Ohio State, he’ll be incredibly important for the Irish.
Notre Dame Football: 3 Instant impact players from the 2022 Class
Tobias Merriweather
4-Star Wide Receiver
Tobias Merriweather is one of the best wide receiver recruits in the 2022 class, rated as the 18th wide receiver and 124th overall recruit. Merriweather is from Camas, Washington, where he was a standout receiver. He held 17 offers, besides Notre Dame, including Stanford, Oregon, USC, and Washington.
The first thing that fans will notice is that Merriweather has ideal size for a wide receiver already. He stands 6ft 4in and 185lbs. That means that he’s going to tower over most corners and have the length to catch balls on an extremely wide radius. He’s also been timed running the 100 meters in 10.95 seconds.
For reference, the NCAA 100 meter champion ran 9.82 seconds. Merriweather’s 10.95 seconds would have been good for 22nd. That’s incredibly fast. He balances his speed with fluid route running ability that makes him a likely multi-year starter.
Merriweather also benefits from the same thing that Mickey does. He is coming into a position of need for the Irish. If the Fiesta Bowl is any indication, Notre Dame wants to open up the passing game. They did that with only three wide receivers at the time. Having Merriweather come in and compete is only good for the Irish in the short and long-term.