Top 2022 Notre Dame Targets Earn Five-Star Status
It’s rankings week at Rivals for the 2022 class, and on Monday, an updated list of five-star prospects was announced.
Notre Dame does not have a commitment from a 2022 Rivals five-star prospect, but there are two huge targets for the Irish who are.
In the June rankings update, Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk safety Xavier Nwankpa was a big riser, going from the No. 84 overall prospect to No. 35. He became a five-star on Monday and is the nation’s No. 14 recruit and No. 1 safety.
“Xavier Nwankpa has moved to the No. 1 safety in the country after seeing him perform at The Opening, but also after having incredible junior film where the new five-star shows off excellent ball skills and a physical nature that is really special,” Rivals.com’s Adam Gorney wrote.
“The Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk standout, who has Ohio State, Notre Dame and Iowa highest on his list, covers like a cornerback and hits like a linebacker. That’s rare.”
Nwankpa officially visited Notre Dame in June and raved about his experience in South Bend with BlueandGold.com.
“It was good — one of the best visits I’ve ever been on,” Nwankpa said. “I’ve been there previously, so I had an idea of everything. Notre Dame has their own way of doing things, which I like.
“The atmosphere stood out. Schools can sometimes show you fake love and not once have I felt that with Notre Dame. So being in the atmosphere again and talking to the new coaches [stood out the most].”
Iowa, Ohio State and Texas A&M are considered the other schools to keep an eye on in Nwankpa’s recruitment.
Longtime Notre Dame offensive tackle target Zach Rice from Lynchburg (Va.) Liberty Christian remains a five-star in the latest update. He came into Monday as the nation’s No. 19 player and No. 4 offensive tackle, and his ranking went unchanged.
“There is an ongoing discussion whether Zach Rice should actually be higher in the rankings because at 6-foot-6 and around 300 pounds, he has a frame that could actually add more weight so he has not topped out physically yet,” wrote Gorney. “Still, he’s massive, strong, physical and loves to seek and destroy defenders.”
Notre Dame hosted Rice on campus at the end of June, and the Irish made a huge impression on the 6-6, 305-pounder.
“It went really well,” Rice said. “I would say their tradition and Coach Quinn were the biggest highlights for me. Coach Quinn is the best. He's so genuine. In my opinion I think he’d develop me the best out of all the other coaches.”
Alabama, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia are the top five schools for Rice.
To see the full list of five-star recruits in the 2022 class, click here.
Rivals will announce its Rivals250 rankings for the 2022 class on Tuesday around noon ET. BlueandGold.com will have the breakdown of where the Irish targets and commits stand.
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