Published Jun 4, 2019
Five Notre Dame Commits Ranked In New Rivals100
Staff

There was quite the Notre Dame flavor in the latest Rivals100, and a number of Fighting Irish commits saw their ranking take a major leap in the latest rankings. In all there were five Notre Dame commits in the latest Rivals100.

The biggest news for Notre Dame commits is the jump for St. Louis (Mo.) DeSmet wide receiver Jordan Johnson, who earned a fifth star and is now ranked as the No. 19 player in the country. Should Johnson maintain his No. 19 ranking he would become the highest ranked wide receiver to sign with Notre Dame in the Rivals era, which began with the 2002 class.

Michael Floyd - Notre Dame's all-time leading receiver - currently holds the highest ranking for an Irish receiver, ranking No. 27 in the 2008 class. Johnson would also be only the second five-star wideout to choose Notre Dame.

Johnson is currently the No. 4 wide receiver in the class and jumped up 41 spots since the last Rivals250 was released.

Notre Dame's next highest ranked recruit is Phoenix (Ariz.) Pinnacle four-star offensive tackle Tosh Baker, who maintains his No. 51 overall ranking. Baker is ranked as the No. 7 offensive tackle, and if he maintains his current ranking he would be the highest ranked lineman to pick Notre Dame since Tommy Kraemer (No. 41) in the 2016 class.

Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale running back Chris Tyree - Notre Dame's most recent commit - dropped four spots and checks in at the No. 64 spot. Tyree remains the No. 1 all-purpose back and the No. 9 overall back in the country.

Tyree is the highest ranked back to select Notre Dame since the late Greg Bryant signed with the Irish back in the 2013 class. The Virginia star would be the second highest ranked running back to pick Notre Dame since the 2007 class.

Another big riser in the rankings is Alexandria (Ky.) Covington Catholic four-star tight end Michael Mayer, who checks in at No. 71 after jumping 55 spots in the rankings. Mayer would be the highest ranked player at his position to choose Notre Dame since Brock Wright back in the 2017 class.

The Covington Catholic star is currently ranked as the No. 3 tight end in the country and made the biggest leap among the Irish commits who were previously ranked.

Notre Dame's first commitment in the class was New Canaan (Conn.) High School star Drew Pyne, who remains a Rivals100 player. Pyne checks in at No. 82 after dropping ten spots.

Pyne was recently named as the top quarterback from the Rivals camp circuit and checks in as the No. 6 quarterback in the country.

Pyne would be the highest ranked quarterback to select Notre Dame since Brandon Wimbush back in the 2015 class and would become the fourth Rivals100 quarterback to choose Notre Dame, assuming his ranking holds.

All five of Notre Dame's Top 100 commits are on the offensive side of the ball. Not since 2008 has Notre Dame signed more than three Rivals100 recruits on offense. Notre Dame has three skills players in the latest Rivals100 (Johnson, Tyree, Pyne), also the highest number since the 2008 class.

Only Clemson and LSU have more current Rivals100 commits than Notre Dame.

NOTRE DAME TARGETS

Several Notre Dame targets also found themselves in the Rivals100.

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy wideout Michael Redding jumped four spots to No. 37 in the latest ranking. Notre Dame hosted Redding during the spring, but he isn't as high on the board as he once was, which recruiting insider Mike Singer recently updated HERE.

Another wide receiver - Fresno (Calif.) San Joaquin Memorial standout Jalen McMillan - jumped ten spots in the ranking, climbing up to No. 73 in the latest list. McMillan is a must-get player for the Irish and the Notre Dame staff has been on him for some time. An argument could be made that he is the top target left on the board for the Irish.

Recruiting insider EJ Holland was out to see McMillan in May and reported on the latest with the standout wideout, which you can read HERE.

Notre Dame is recruiting another Rivals100 wide receiver, Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East athlete AJ Henning, who checks in at No. 84 after climbing 26 spots. The Illinois standout is expected to visit Notre Dame soon, and Holland recently updated the latest in Henning's recruitment, which you can read HERE.

The Fighting Irish are pushing for a pair of Rivals100 defensive backs, and the top safety on their board is Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe star Lathan Ransom, who fell 10 spots to No. 70 in the land.

Ransom is the No. 4 safety in the nation and is expected to visit Notre Dame soon. Holland has the latest on that visit HERE.

La Habra (Calif.) High School cornerback Clark Phillips fell five spots but checks in at No. 59 in the latest rankings. Phillips visited Note Dame in March but the Irish have not had him back on campus since. Holland has the latest on Phillips HERE.

Check back tomorrow for the release of the full Rivals250, which will also have a strong Notre Dame flavor.

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