Notre Dame Recruits Make Moves In Latest Rivals 2022 Rankings
After a year of COVID-19 canceling football seasons in various states and many premier camps, things are getting back to normal in 2021. Under Armour, Rivals and others had camps this spring, which allowed for in-person evaluations for the Rivals’ national staff.
Notre Dame has six commitments in its 2022 class ranked inside Rivals' updated top 250 prospects that it released on Tuesday. The most notable Irish-related news in the updated rankings on Tuesday is Chantilly (Va.) High defensive end Aiden Gobaira.
Gobaira didn’t have a fall season in 2020 but during his 2021 spring season, he was a dominant force and looked like a completely different player than what he was on tape back in the fall of 2019. Gobaira was bumped from a three- to four-star prospect and inside the Rivals250 at No. 249.
Notre Dame doesn’t have any commitments inside Rivals’ top 50 but is in hot pursuit of four players in it. Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian offensive tackle Zach Rice checks in at No. 19, and Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei wide receiver CJ Williams is the No. 29 player in America. Both of their rankings are essentially the same as the last update. Rice is a five-star player, while Williams is just outside of that status.
Hilton Head (S.C.) High linebacker Jaylen Sneed moved up 17 spots to the No. 46 overall player in the country. He was bumped from a 5.9 to 6.0 four-star recruit, the mid-level to high-level designation for a four-star player.
Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk safety Xavier Nwankpa made a big jump in the national rankings, moving up 49 spots to the nation’s No. 35 prospect.
Notre Dame’s highest ranked commitment in the 2022 class is St. Louis John Burroughs defensive end Tyson Ford, who remains inside the Rivals100 at No. 91. He did have a noticeable drop in the national rankings, sliding 21 spots.
Notre Dame’s two class of 2022 offensive line pledges saw bumps. Zionsville (Ind.) High guard Joey Tanona moved up 14 spots to No. 187 in the country, while Groton (Mass.) Lawrence Academy tackle Ty Chan moved up 18 spots to No. 191.
Three Irish targets who are set for Notre Dame officials saw big jumps into the Rivals250. Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher’s Andre Greene Jr. went from a four-star outside the top 250 all the way up to No. 85 nationally. Arlington (Texas) Martin defensive end Ernest “RJ” Cooper’s rise was similar, as he went from a three-star player to the No. 164 prospect in the land.
Scottsdale (Ariz.) Chaparral defensive end Anthony Lucas jumped from a four-star outside the Rivals250 to the nation’s No. 149 prospect.
Click here to see the full 2022 Rivals250, and click here to view Notre Dame's 2022 commitment list.
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