Burning questions for Notre Dame recruiting on National Signing Day
The early signing period for the 2022 class is just one day away, and there are still unanswered questions as to what will happen for Notre Dame on Wednesday. This article will take a look at those questions.
Will Amorion Walker stick with Notre Dame?
After Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei wide receiver CJ Williams decommitted from Notre Dame on Monday night, Ponchatoula (La.) High pass catcher Amorion Walker became the most important recruit for the Irish to close on.
Notre Dame landed Walker’s commitment back in March, but ever since the summer when he took visits to Alabama, Kansas State (this flew under the radar), LSU and Michigan, Walker has been a flip possibility.
Walker officially visited Notre Dame in late June, and the word at that point was that he’d shut things down and stick with the Irish. But he still took visits. And then he visited Notre Dame for the USC game Oct. 23, and again, all seemed great for the Irish’s chances to hold on to him, but rumors that he would flip to Michigan kept going.
The Michigan side seems confident a day in advance of signing day that he’ll flip. But our sources on the Notre Dame side still believe he’ll be sticking with the Fighting Irish. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? Who knows.
Per Rivals.com’s National Signing Day guide, Walker will announce his final decision at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Typically, a committed prospect doesn’t have some sort of ceremony to announce that he’s sticking with the school that he had been pledged to for nine months.
But with Amorion Walker, who knows what he’ll do on Wednesday. We still believe his final decision will please Notre Dame fans.
Can Notre Dame convince Devin Moore to re-join the class?
The Fighting Irish staff is doing everything they can to get Naples (Fla.) High cornerback Devin Moore back in their 2022 class.
Moore initially committed to Notre Dame over Florida on July 4, but Brian Kelly leaving his post in South Bend was enough for him to decommit, which was rumored to be happening in the couple weeks leading up to that event anyways.
But Marcus Freeman was hired to replace Kelly, and Irish defensive backs coaches Chris O’Leary and Mike Mickens were confirmed to be staying on the Notre Dame staff. That may not be enough to get Moore back in the fold, though.
Corey Raymond left LSU for Florida to become the new Gators’ cornerbacks coach, which piqued Moore’s interest. And this past weekend, Moore chose to officially visit Florida instead of Notre Dame. This recruiting writer believes in the “follow the visits” mantra, and that action by Moore does not bode well for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame is still working their angles with Moore, as the Irish staff’s relationship with him is much stronger at this point. But it’s hard for Notre Dame to overcome proximity to home when that is a factor.
Will there be any major surprises?
With Williams likely off to USC and Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral defensive end Anthony Lucas probably destined for the SEC, the two recruits we’re keeping a close eye on for Wednesday are Moore and Walker.
Even if the Irish lose out on both prospects, it would be a big blow to the class, but discounting the rest of the impressive group Notre Dame has assembled based on the finish would be silly. Don’t forget about the likes of Jaylen Sneed, Joey Tanona, Ty Chan, Billy Schrauth, Aamil Wagner, Tobias Merriweather, Jadarian Price, Joshua Burnham, Niuafe Tuihalamaka, Jaden Mickey and others.
If Moore and Walker go elsewhere, it wouldn’t come as a surprise. If they land both, that wouldn’t be a surprise either. But for Notre Dame’s commitments outside of Walker, it would be a major shock if any of them flip on National Signing Day.
There was some concern that Merriweather and Tuihalamaka would look elsewhere, but they are solid with the Irish after their respective home visits with the staff last week. Penn State went hard after Chan, but he turned down the Nittany Lions and locked in with Notre Dame for Wednesday.
A surprise wouldn’t be a surprise if you saw it coming, of course. Could there be a left field addition? It’s National Signing Day, so that’s always possible. If Notre Dame has a prospect who they like fall into their lap at a position of need at the last minute, then a surprise could happen.
Our expectation as of now is that Notre Dame will look to add more prospects in the February signing period or via the transfer portal.
Where will the Irish finish the day in the rankings?
After the addition of Schrauth, Notre Dame seemed primed to be in the conversation for a top-five class, but the loss of Williams, their second-highest ranked recruit in the class per Rivals, was a big setback.
Notre Dame dropped from the No. 5 to No. 6 in the Rivals team rankings after the Williams news, and after Texas earned a commitment from a four-star prospect late Monday nighty, the Longhorns jumped the Fighting Irish.
The conversation about Notre Dame signing a top-five class in 2022 is likely over. Now the discussion shifts to whether Notre Dame can stay in the top-10 for a second-straight recruiting cycle, something the Irish haven’t done since 2007-08.
In the 2021 cycle, Notre Dame finished with the No. 9 class nationally per Rivals with 2,378 points, and the Irish are at 2,399 points currently. We’ll see how things shake out after Wednesday but note that it won’t be final either way until the February signing period.
Notre Dame is likely to stay in the top 10.
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