Notre Dame Football Recruits On MaxPreps All-American Lists

Nothing screams that high school football is right around the corner quite like MaxPreps releasing its national and a few state preseason teams. A few states already started their regular season, while many more get underway Aug. 20.

There are Notre Dame commits and targets all over MaxPreps preseason lists. Let’s take a look at them.

Sign up for Blue & Gold’s FREE alerts and newsletter

As Notre Dame rounds out its 2022 recruiting class, there are three key prospects the Irish would love to land: Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian offensive tackle Zach Rice, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman defensive end Cyrus Moss and Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk safety Xavier Nwankpa.

All three prospects are on the first-team of the 2021 Preseason MaxPreps All-America squad. Rivals ranks Nwankpa and Rice as five-star prospects, while Moss checks in as a four-star recruit inside the Rivals100.

By our count, there are 21 recruits Notre Dame is after on the Preseason MaxPreps Junior All-America Team.

The following prospects are included on the first team: QB Arch Manning, RB Reuben Owens II, OL Kadyn Proctor, OL TJ Shanahan Jr., OL Chase Bisontis, DL Vic Burley, LB Malik Bryant, LB/DB Alex “Sonny” Styles and DB Caleb Downs.

The Irish targets on the second team are QB Dante Moore, RB Justice Haynes, WR Carnell Tate, WR Zachariah Branch, TE Duce Robinson, ATH Samuel M’Pemba, DL Jayden Wayne, DL David Hicks Jr., DT Jason Moore, DB Cole Martin, DB Joenel Aguero and DB AJ Harris.

Per BlueandGold.com, Notre Dame has offered 10 prospects in the 2024 class, and four of them appear on the Preseason MaxPreps Sophomore All-America Team. Three of these four prospects visited Notre Dame over the summer as well.

WR Ryan Pellum, LB Anthony Speca and DB Peyton Woodyard were named first team players. QB Julian Sayin was on the second team. Pellum is the prospect who hasn’t been to Notre Dame’s campus yet.

There’s plenty of Notre Dame flavor on the California All-State squad, including three Notre Dame commits on the first team: Mater Dei wide receiver CJ Williams, Bishop Alemany linebacker Niuafe Tuihalamaka and Centennial cornerback Jaden Mickey.

Irish 2022 defensive tackle target Hero Kanu from Santa Margarita is also a first-team performer, while 2023 pass catcher Rico Flores Jr. from Folsom is on the second-team offense.

Four Notre Dame targets in the 2023 class are on the Georgia All-State team by MaxPreps. Blessed Trinity running back Justice Haynes, Warner Robins defensive lineman Vic Burley and Mill Creek safety Caleb Downs are listed on the first team.

Cedar Grove cornerback Kayin Lee checks in on the second team.

Notre Dame has a few recruits on the Florida All-State team thanks to IMG Academy. Linebacker Malik Bryant is on the first team, and wide receiver Carnell Tate, athlete Samuel M’Pemba and safety Joenel Aguero are on the second team.

Gulliver Prep wide receiver Jalen Brown is also listed on the first team. In his season opener Thursday night, Brown caught eight passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns.

Last Friday, MaxPreps unveiled its composite top 25 high school football rankings, which weighed preseason national team rankings between MaxPreps, High School Football America and CalPreps. Here’s a look at the top 25 with notes on Notre Dame recruits on the list.

1. Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.): Notre Dame’s highest-ranked offensive commit of the 2022 class is Mater Dei wide receiver CJ Williams, the No. 45 overall player and No. 5 pass catcher. The Irish offered a few other players at Mater Dei in the 2022 cycle but things didn’t work out with them. Look for Notre Dame to make a bigger push at Mater Dei in the future.

2. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.): In the 2022 and 2023 cycles, Notre Dame has offered a total of eight players from IMG Academy. The most notable recruit is junior wide out Carnell Tate, who is announcing his commitment Oct. 8, and the Fighting Irish are a finalist.

3. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.)

3. Thompson (Alabaster, Ala.)

5. Westlake (Austin, Texas)

6. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

7. American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.)

7. Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.)

9. Duncanville (Texas)

10. Bergen Catholic (Oradell, N.J.): This program is the home of Notre Dame commits Steve Angeli (QB) and Jayden Bellamy (DB). MaxPreps ranked Bergen Catholic as the No. 1 team in the state of New Jersey in 2020.

11. St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia)

12. North Shore (Houston)

13. St. Frances Academy (Baltimore)

14. Central (Miami)

15. Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)

16. Katy (Texas)

17. Chandler (Ariz.)

17. St. Xavier (Cincinnati)

19. Servite (Anaheim, Calif.)

20. Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)

21. Corner Canyon (Draper, Utah)

22. Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas)

23. Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.)

23. Ryan (Denton, Texas)

25. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION ON THE LOU SOMOGYI BOARD!

----

• 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, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.

• Like us on Facebook.