Notre Dame RB commit Dylan Edwards rockets up the new Rivals250 rankings
Roughly a month ago, Derby, Kan., running back Dylan Edwards showed off his elite speed at the Under Armour Future 50 camp in Bradenton, Fla.
On Tuesday, the Notre Dame recruit, with a 4.38 40-yard dash timing, showed he can move pretty fast off the field as well.
Ten days after making his verbal commitment to Notre Dame as a three-star prospect, Edwards leaped from outside the 2023 Rivals250 into the No. 150 spot, as one of the nation’s most dramatic ascenders in the new player rankings.
Along with the leap comes four-star status.
Three other members of the 23-player Irish 2023 class made sizable jumps. Safety Peyton Bowen rose from No. 93 to 46 overall, giving the Irish four top 50 players. Five star defensive end Keon Keeley, at 19, remains ND’s highest-rated recruit, though it’s uncertain whether he’ll formally reopen his recruitment in the coming days or weeks.
The others in the top 50 are defensive end Brenan Vernon at No. 25 and down two spots, and linebacker Drayk Bowen at No. 41 and down four.
Wide receiver Braylon James was ND’s biggest ascender within the top 250, now 69 spots higher at No. 136. Offensive tackle Charles Jaguseh is at No. 105 after landing at No. 122 in the last ratings revision.
Overall, the recalculations of the top 250 nudged Notre Dame past Alabama and back into the top spot in the 2023 team recruiting rankings.
Of the Irish recruits who dropped, all were subtle moves with three exceptions. Linebacker Jaiden Ausberry is down 116 to 196, while linebacker Preston Zinter (previously 221) and offensive lineman Sullivan Absher (previously 231) dropped out of the Rivals250.
Ausberry’s slide was based on a recent camp performance in which evaluators felt he projected as more of a ‘tweener (safety/linebacker) and didn’t see the growth potential as a linebacker, his recruited position with the Irish.
The latest shifts leave Notre Dame with six top 100 recruits, 11 in the top 150 and 15 in the top 250. The numbers are almost identical to the last time the Irish finished with a top 5 class. The Jaylon Smith-led 2013 class also featured four top 50 prospects, 6 top 100s and 11 in the top 150.
It featured 13 top 250 players, two fewer than the 2023 class currently has.
Among 2023 targets Notre Dame is still pursuing, five-star edge player Samuel M’Pemba is at No. 5, down two spots; running back Jeremiyah Love is at No. 51 and down two; and outside linebacker Caleb Herring, a Tennessee commit, is up eight to No. 118.
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