Notre Dame just pulled off a massive recruiting win in the 2022 class.
Pledge No. 23 of the cycle is in with Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary’s Springs offensive lineman Billy Schrauth announcing his commitment to Notre Dame.
“Notre Dame has always been my dream school,” Schrauth previously told BlueandGold.com. “I love the campus and everything about it. The history — it’s a special place. My whole family loves it there. It’s definitely special.”
It was quite the interesting recruitment because Schrauth was long considered a Notre Dame lean dating back to last summer, and it seemed like just a matter of time before he would announce his pledge. However, he stayed patient and took official visits to Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin in June.
He visited Wisconsin for a game in early September, and all signs pointed strongly towards Schrauth committing to the Badgers. He held off from doing so and then attended Notre Dame’s 41-13 beatdown of Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago Sept. 25.
Schrauth returned to Notre Dame to watch the Irish’s beat up USC 31-16, and the Irish pulled back ahead past Wisconsin. Schrauth stretched his recruitment much further than most expected, but it ended with a result that falls in Notre Dame’s favor. Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and head coach Marcus Freeman closed the recruitment following a home visit with Schrauth Dec. 6.
The four-star prospect becomes the fifth offensive line pledge of the class, joining Ty Chan, Ashton Craig, Aamil Wagner and Joey Tanona. All five of the Irish offensive line commits are slated to play in a major postseason All-American game.
Schrauth saw his first game inside Notre Dame Stadium when the Fighting Irish defeated Michigan back in 2018. He visited Notre Dame as a recruit in the fall of 2019 when he had no scholarship offers, and now he’s on the Fighting Irish commit list.
Several schools liked Schrauth on both sides of the line, and for Notre Dame, he’s expected to play one of the interior offensive line spots.
Schrauth picked the Fighting Irish over Arizona State, Central Michigan, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, Western Michigan and Wisconsin.
Rivals ranks Schrauth as the No. 3 prospect in Wisconsin, and the No. 4 offensive guard and No. 125 overall prospect in the country.
When Schrauth signs with Notre Dame next week, he will be the first player the Irish landed from the state of Wisconsin since Brian Beidatsch in the 2001 class.
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