Notre Dame closing in on goal of top-five class with Aamil Wagner pledge
Notre Dame added a huge commitment on Thursday afternoon when Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne class of 2022 offensive tackle Aamil Wagner pulled a surprise when he picked the Fighting Irish over Kentucky and Penn State — the two schools perceived to be the favorites.
Wagner is Notre Dame’s fourth offensive line commitment and 22nd overall for the 2022 cycle. With Wagner’s pledge as a four-star prospect, the Irish’s pursuit of a top five-class just got a bit more realistic, although it certainly won’t be easy.
Notre Dame currently has the No. 3 class in the 2022 Rivals’ rankings. Georgia and Alabama hold the top two spots and Penn State and Texas round out the top five, respectively.
Rivals takes into account a school’s top-20 commitments for its rankings, meaning that Wagner’s 5.8 four-star recruit ranking and Rivals250 bonus points replaced a 5.7 three-star ranking of an Irish commit. The Irish have a total of 2,435 total rankings points, which is 188 points behind Alabama at No. 2 (which is the differential of a Rivals250 5.8 four-star prospect).
If Notre Dame landed a commitment from Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary’s Springs offensive guard Billy Schrauth, the Irish would gain a net of 58 total points, which would keep them behind the Crimson Tide. Moving up in the rankings will be difficult for Notre Dame without landing five-star prospects. It would be a strong feat for Notre Dame to remain in the top five when National Signing Day for the 2022 class arrives.
The Fighting Irish have a very respectable average star ranking per recruit of 3.73. Georgia’s is at 3.95 while Alabama’s is 3.84. Penn State and Texas both are in the 3.5-range of their star ranking average.
Sicteen of Notre Dame’s commitments are ranked as four-star prospects per Rivals, and the other six are three-star prospects.
For more details on the Rivals rankings formula, click here.
Notre Dame offensive line coach Jeff Quinn led the charge in Wagner’s recruitment.
“Every couple of days, I’ll talk on the phone with Coach Quinn, and he’ll say, ‘What do I need to do to get 59 [Wagner’s jersey number] in South Bend?’ Notre Dame has always done a good job of staying in the hunt,” Wagner previously said.
Rivals ranks Wagner as America’s No. 23 offensive tackle and No. 202 overall player in the 2022 cycle. He is committed to playing in the All-American Bowl in January 2022.
Kentucky, Maryland, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State were the final five schools for Wagner.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.