Notre Dame’s 2022 recruiting class is rolling with new commitments, as the Fighting Irish picked up three new pledges from June 26 to July 4. Offensive lineman Ashton Craig and defensive backs Jayden Bellamy and Devin Moore announced their commitments to Notre Dame.
These additions have not changed Notre Dame’s class ranking but did widen the gap over Florida State. The Irish have the No. 2 class in the land with 1,921 points per the Rivals rankings formula. Notre Dame is 179 points ahead of Florida State, which is essentially the number of points equal to a 6.0 four-star recruit.
Ohio State has the No. 1 class in the country and leads Notre Dame by 610 points despite having two less total commitments than the Irish. Notre Dame’s 18 commitments is the most among schools currently in the top five, and the likes of Alabama and Clemson don’t even have 10 pledges yet.
The Irish having a spot in the top five when it’s all said and done in the 2022 class will be tough, but it’s certainly possible.
Notre Dame’s average star ranking per recruit of 3.67 only trails Ohio State (4.19) and Oklahoma (3.83) of programs among the current top 10.
Ohio State has four five-star prospects committed, which holds a great deal of weight, while the Irish do not have a five-star commit.
Rivals only takes into account a program’s top 20 recruits into its class rankings formula. The Irish are just two commitments away from that mark and will likely hit it by the end of July. At that point, if a new commitment is ranked higher than the Irish’s lowest ranked pledge, then the higher ranked recruit’s total will replace the lowest commit’s total.
For example, if Jaylen Sneed, who is a four-star recruit with a 6.0 Rivals ranking, commits to the Irish, his total of 180 points would replace Amorion Walker, who is a three-star player with a 5.5 Rivals ranking, and his 60 points. Notre Dame’s score would increase 120 points (180-60=120) in this case.
For more details on the Rivals rankings formula, click here.
Moore, who is Notre Dame's most recent commitment, was ranked as a three-star recruit until June 11, when Rivals bumped him to four-star status and the nation’s No. 29 cornerback.
“Moore has tremendous length at cornerback and great instincts, a great combination for someone who has proven to be a four-star prospect,” Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney wrote. “He has terrific speed to run with receivers, long arms to tip passes away, and he can pick off passes. Moore could definitely move even higher because he hasn't been to many national events yet, so once the Naples (Fla.) prospect is seen more, he could move up fast.”
During his junior season in 2020, Moore recorded 26 tackles, three tackles for loss, four interceptions and five pass deflections. Across 31 games of his prep career, Moore has posted 122 tackles, seven tackles for loss, 10 interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 14 pass deflections, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.
“I’m fast enough to stick with the shorter, quick receivers and big enough to lock down the physical receivers,” said Moore.
Moore was named to the Collier County Athletic Conference first-team defense for his efforts in 2020. He is committed to playing in the 2021 All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
Moore held more than 30 offers, including Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
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