Notre Dame’s outlook for landing a top-five class in Rivals’ 2022 rankings
The wait is over. Notre Dame finally added a pledge from Fond du Lac (Wis.) St. Mary’s Springs class of 2022 offensive guard Billy Schrauth after battling Wisconsin for his commitment for a year and a half.
Schrauth’s commitment to Notre Dame has an impact on the Fighting Irish in so many different ways, and this article will touch on the change in the Rivals team recruiting rankings. The gist is that there’s not much change, though.
Per the Rivals formula, Schrauth’s commitment is worth 148 “points,” but since only the top 20 recruits are taken into account of the team rankings, 90 points have to be subtracted because one of the Irish’s 5.7 three-star recruits comes out of the top 20. Thus, a net of 58 points is added to Notre Dame’s total with Schrauth’s commitment.
Essentially, Notre Dame widened its lead at the No. 5 spot in the Rivals team rankings. With Schrauth’s commitment, Notre Dame has a total of 2,489 points, while Penn State is at No. 6 with 2,426 points.
In the 2021 recruiting class, Georgia finished at No. 5 with 2,704 points, and right around 2,700 seems to be the benchmark for having the No. 5 class nationally per Rivals. With 2,489, Notre Dame has still more work to do.
If Notre Dame is able to add Naples (Fla.) High cornerback Devin Moore, the nation’s No. 136 player, that will give the Irish about the same boost that Schrauth gave. But Notre Dame would still have more work to do. Not to mention, losing a prospect such as Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei wide receiver CJ Williams, the No. 46 player in America, who is considering a flip to USC, would sting.
It’s not all doom and gloom in terms of Notre Dame signing a top-five class, though. A majority of Notre Dame’s class plays in either the All-American Bowl or Under Armour All-America Game, so there is the opportunity for the recruits to improve their ranking on the national stage.
Also, Notre Dame may have additional space to recruit prospects in the February signing period who could boost its ranking.
Notre Dame hasn’t had a top-five recruiting class per Rivals since the 2013 group in which the Fighting Irish inked the No. 3 class in America.
Finish with a top-10 class is very likely at this point. The Fighting Irish finished with the No. 9 class nationally in the 2021 class with 2,378 points, and Notre Dame is already well past that point total already.
Below is a look at the Rivals top-10 team recruiting rankings for the 2022 class.
| Team | Commits | Total Points |
|---|---|---|
|
1. Georgia |
24 |
3,006 |
|
2. Alabama |
21 |
2,990 |
|
3. Texas A&M |
21 |
2,807 |
|
4. Ohio State |
18 |
2,548 |
|
5. Notre Dame |
23 |
2,489 |
|
6. Penn State |
25 |
2,426 |
|
7. Texas |
21 |
2,257 |
|
8. North Carolina |
16 |
2,049 |
|
9. Michigan |
20 |
1,936 |
|
10. Stanford |
22 |
1,815 |
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