It is never too late to look ahead and today 247Sports made their initial Top247 recruit rankings for the class of 2022. These prospects are rising juniors, so this list will surely change drastically before any of them sign a letter of intent, but nevertheless it is a good barometer of where they stand compared to their peers.
The Fighting Irish have extended scholarships to numerous ’22 prospects, so let’s take a look at who could potentially be wearing the Blue and Gold in a few years. There have been around 30 verbal offers out to prospects that have been reported, with a good number of them showing up on 247’s list.
Starting in the backfield, Brian Kelly has offered three running backs: Colorado’s Gavin Sawchuk, Pennsylvania’s Nicholas Singleton and Texas’ Emeka Megwa. Each of them were ranked, with Sawchuk leading the way at 39th overall, Singleton checking in at 84th and Megwa making the list at 215th.
The wide receiver offers double the amount already given out to the RB’s but each of them has been included in the rankings. California star Tetairoa McMillan leads the list as the 5th best player in the country while fellow Golden State prospect C.J. Williams is the 31st player on the list. A pair of Illinois WR’s in Kaleb Brown and Tyler Morris made it as well, Brown at 35 and Morris a bit lower at 56. Oklahoma WR Talyn Shettron is 93rd while Ohio’s Kaden Saunders, listed as an athlete, made the list as well at 166th.
It should come to no one’s surprise that the Irish are after elite tight ends, two of them holding offers and both of them making the Top 247. Tony Livingston is considered an athlete, but many believe the Florida native will play tight end in college, check in as the 53rd best player. Texas star Donovan Green holds the other Irish TE offer, is ranked as the 112th player nationally.
On the offensive line, only a few offers have been dolled out and three of Notre Dame’s targets made the list. Wisconsin tackle Joe Brunner is the 67th ranked prospect and fellow statesman Carson Hinzman, a guard, is the 81st best player. Florida tackle Julian Armella also holds an Irish offer is the 127th best player in the country.
One the defense, the nation’s best prospect according to the rankings has an Notre Dame offer, Florida DE Shemar Stewart. Staying with the defensive ends, Texas’ Ernest Cooper IV is ranked 76th, Maryland’s Dani Dennis-Sutton ranked 99th and New Jersey’s KJ Miles as the 117th best player in the country all have gotten Notre Dame’s attention.
Each of the four offers out to linebackers are ranked in the Top 247, with Nevada’s Cyrus Moss the highest ranked at 28th. Maryland’s Jaishawn Barham is a high-level prospect as well, ranking 40th overall. Ohio’s Gabe Powers is just a few spots being Barham, at 43rd while Kansas’ Dasan McCullough is 73rd.
In the secondary there are multiple players the Irish are courting, California star Kamari Ramsey being the highest ranked at 96th. New Jersey’s Jaeden Gould is ranked slightly behind at 96th while Wisconsin’s Braelon Allen is 116th. Staying in the Midwest with Iowa’s Xavier Nwankap, ranked 123rd and Ohio’s C.J. Hicks is 162nd. Back out west to California, you’ll find Ephesians Prysock ranked 195th and the final player with an Irish offer in the secondary is Texas’ Cristian Driver, ranked at 212.
The Irish have gotten off to a fantastic start to their 2021 class and if you look a the offers out to the 2022 class, it seems like Brian Kelly could have yet another outstanding group of players heading to South Bend when the cycle ends.