Rivals' first 5-star recruits in 2024 class include multiple ND targets
Rivals crowned its first six five-star recruits in the 2024 class Monday.
Three of those prospects, who are all in the final months of their sophomore school years, previously received Notre Dame offers.
Wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who landed a Notre Dame offer last May, was ranked No. 3 overall in the 2024 class. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound product of St. Louis University High visited Notre Dame twice last year. He camped with the Irish in June and returned for the Cincinnati game in October.
Wingo’s offer list of 18 schools also includes the likes of Texas, Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida, Arkansas and Missouri. Wingo’s older brothers Ronnie and Ray played at Arkansas and Missouri, respectively.
The youngest Wingo has spent time on both campuses as a recruit. Ryan Wingo made an unofficial visit to Arkansas this past weekend.
Future visits to other schools have yet to be scheduled as he participates in track this spring.
“With recruitment and visits, I’m going to try to get some places in the spring,” Wingo told Rivals. “As much as I can, because of track I’m kind of cutting it down. I’ll be sure to get out this summer. We’ll see how many schools I get to.”
Quarterback Jadyn Davis, who received a Notre Dame offer in February, was ranked No. 4 overall in the 2024 class. The 6-0, 186-pound Davis became the fifth quarterback offer in the class for the Irish.
Davis played his sophomore season at Fort Mill (S.C.) Catawba Ridge but has since transferred to Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day, where Notre Dame linebacker Osita Ekwonu went to school. Davis completed 140 of his 257 passes (54.5%) for 1,732 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions in nine games as a sophomore.
Ohio State and Georgia have already hosted Davis for four visits each. He’s also made multiple visits to Clemson, North Carolina, Penn State, South Carolina and Tennessee. Clemson has not yet offered Davis, but the others have.
“No. 1, what do they see in me?” Davis told Rivals of the questions he asks college coaches recruiting him. “How can I get better? I’m always a guy that thinks you’re never too good. There’s always ways to improve. What’s their plan for me if I was to choose that particular university?
“One of the questions I ask that most guys wouldn’t ask is what are the pros and cons coming to a place like this? It’s going to be hard for a coach to say a con when they’re trying to sell you on a school. Once you see their facial expression to that and their reaction to that, you get to know a little bit about the place.
“A lot of the time it’s not even about football. It’s just being a human being. What kind of human being they are? Are they a family man? I’m a big family. I come from a big family — five siblings. So really just stuff like that.
“How will they develop me? Because my dream goal is to be successful in the NFL one day not one of the guys that just makes it or is a top pick and doesn’t really transition into the NFL well. I want to be better than Tom Brady. That’s been my goal since I was five years old. Any school that will help me be like that and help me reach my goals."
Quarterback Julian Sayin, who was ranked No. 5 overall, received a Notre Dame scholarship offer in June before any other 2024 quarterback. He became the first of three 2024 quarterbacks — also CJ Carr and Adrian Posse — to land a Notre Dame offer from offensive coordinator Tommy Rees that month.
The 6-1, 180-pound Sayin delivered on those expectations with a prolific sophomore season at Carlsbad (Calif.) High. He finished with 2,769 yards, 34 touchdowns and five interceptions on 181-of-253 passing (71.5%) in 12 games.
Sayin attended Notre Dame’s 31-16 home victory over USC in October. He recently told Inside ND Sports he’s looking to return to Notre Dame in late March.
His relationship with Rees, which includes weekly conversations every Wednesday, has Sayin extremely interested in the Irish.
“I really like coach Rees,” Sayin told Rivals. “He’s a young guy. He’s really relatable. He’s kind of like my quarterback coach at Carlsbad, I always say. He’s kind of like him — same personality, same vibe. I really like him. They both played the position. They know what they’re coaching.”
Sayin, who also has offers from the likes of Florida, Miami, Oregon, UCLA and USC, wants to visit Georgia on March 31 and Texas in April. Texas was Sayin’s dream school as a kid.
Sayin’s interest in Notre Dame goes beyond his relationship with Rees.
“I would definitely say the school too,” Sayin said. “The tradition they have there. It’s one of the most winning programs in all of college football. The tradition, the fans, the culture they’ve built there and definitely the staff too.”
Notre Dame has not yet offered the three other five-star recruits announced by Rivals: defensive end Colin Simmons (No. 1), cornerback Desmond Ricks (No. 2), and offensive tackle Daniel Calhoun (No. 6).
Notre Dame last signed a five-star recruit in the 2021 class: offensive tackle Blake Fisher. Five-star defensive Keon Keeley remains verbally committed to Notre Dame's 2023 class.
Rivals will release its complete Rivals250 for the 2024 class Tuesday. Many Notre Dame targets are expected to make the list. The Irish have yet to receive a verbal commitment in the 2024 class.
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