Notre Dame hit the 20-commitment mark in the 2022 class on Wednesday when Vancouver (Wash.) Union wide receiver Tobias Merriweather made his pledge to the Fighting Irish.
This is significant considering the Rivals team rankings formula, which only takes into account a school’s top 20 recruits. Any additional commitments past the 20-commit mark either don’t count if they’re the lowest ranked pledge or the new commit’s point total replaces the lowest ranked pledge.
For example on the latter point, if Notre Dame lands Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei pass catcher CJ Williams on Sunday, his point total of 188 would replace Ponchatoula (La.) High wide receiver Amorion Walker’s 60 points for a net gain of 128. For more details on the Rivals rankings formula, click here.
With Merriweather’s pledge, Notre Dame remains with the No. 3 class nationally per Rivals. Notre Dame trails Penn State and Ohio State, respectively.
The Buckeyes had held the top spot in the Rivals rankings for months before the Nittany Lions went on a run of 12 new commitments in the month of July. Penn State only leads Ohio State by 20 points (the amount of a two-star recruit), and the Nittany Lions had nine more commitments than the Buckeyes. PSU’s lead in the Rivals rankings will be short lived.
Notre Dame will likely finish ahead of Penn State, but it will be tough for both schools to finish in the top five as the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma will surge. Those programs have less than 17 commitments at this point in the process.
The Irish are in the mix for more highly ranked, big-time talents down the stretch though, and landing some of them will go a long ways in Notre Dame’s quest for a top-five class.
Among programs currently in the top 10, Notre Dame’s average star ranking per recruit of 3.75 ranks sixth behind Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, Georgia and Clemson.
The addition of Merriweather is a big one for Notre Dame.
Rivals ranks Merriweather as the No. 2 prospect in Washington, and the No. 21 wide receiver and No. 155 overall recruit in the country. As things currently stand, Merriweather will be Notre Dame’s lone player on its roster from The Evergreen State next year.
During a six-game junior season, Merriweather caught 28 passes for 415 yards and six touchdowns. He had 666 all-purpose years and nine total touchdowns, plus four interceptions as a defensive back. Scorebook Live named as a Washington first-team all-state offensive performer.
“There’s speed. Then there’s Merriweather speed,” Scorebook Live’s Todd Milles wrote. “The four-star had a tremendous season out wide, as well as special teams, where he ran back two kick returns for touchdowns.”
Merriweather was named the The Columbian’s All-Region Male Athlete of the Year with his play in football, basketball and track as a junior. He won district titles in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter races.
During Merriweather’s sophomore season in 2019, he caught 43 passes for 766 yards and five touchdowns.
His older sisters Jai’Lyn and Dai’Lyn both run track at the University of Oklahoma.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @Rivals_Singer, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.
