Where Notre Dame's Targets Rank In The New 2021 Rivals100
Notre Dame has five commitments in the new 2021 Rivals100 rankings, and there are a whopping 28 uncommitted targets on the list as well.
Blue & Gold Illustrated runs through where the Fighting Irish targets rank in the Rivals100.
• Notre Dame running backs coach Lance Taylor has been working hard on the recruiting trail, and four of the five RB offers Notre Dame has sent out rank in the Rivals100. This includes Hopewell (Va.) High's TreVeyon Henderson, who saw a huge bump, going from a three-star prospect to No. 64 in the nation.
Henderson won the Virginia Gatorade Player Of The Year award and rightfully so. In leaning Hopewell to a 14-0 record and one win away from a state championship, Henderson has rushed for 2,200 yards and 42 touchdowns, plus four receiving touchdowns, picked off three passes and has racked up 46 tackles.
Henderson was offered by Notre Dame as a defensive back in the spring, but now the Irish are giving him a close look as a ball carrier.
Garland (Texas) Lakeview Centennial's Camar Wheaton remains a big target for the Fighting Irish. Taylor visited Wheaton last week, and the five-star recruit moved up one spot to No. 6 in the country.
Matthews (N.C.) Weddington all-purpose back Will Shipley won North Carolina Gatorade Player Of The Year honors last week. He's racked up well over 2,000 all-purpose yards and 38 touchdowns, and his team is one win away from a state championship. Shipley moved up from the No. 53 player in the land up to No. 33.
West Bloomfield (Mich.) High running back Donovan Edwards moved up from No. 89 to No. 58 nationally. For the latest on Edwards and Notre Dame, click here for the scoop from BGI.
RELATED: Where do Notre Dame's 2021 commits rank in the Rivals100? Click Here
• A few of Notre Dame's big wide receiver targets ranks inside the Rivals100, including Steilacoom (Wash.) High's Emeka Egbuka, who moved up just spot in the rankings to No. 11 nationally, but his recruit ranking moved from a 6.0 to 6.1 -- aka five-star status. Notre Dame is a top ten school for Egbuka.
Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco standout Beaux Collins dropped one spot from No. 21 to No. 22 nationally. Wide receivers coach Del Alexander is working hard on the elite prospect.
Baltimore (Md.) Mount St. Joseph playmaker Dont'e Thornton Jr. saw a small dip in the rankings, going from the No. 37 to No. 51 player in the country. The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder will be a tough pull out of the DMV, but Alexander is building a relationship with Thornton.
• Moving to the offensive line, Olney (Md.) Good Counsel offensive tackle Landon Tengwall led his team to a state championship in 2019, and his ranking rose from No. 54 to No. 35 nationally. The Irish are one of Tengwall's top three schools, along with Michigan and Penn State.
Notre Dame has a lot more work to do with Lititz (Pa.) Warwick offensive tackle Nolan Rucci, who did not see his ranking change and remains as the No. 30 prospect in the nation.
Clarkston (Mich.) High offensive tackle Rocco Spindler moved up five spots to the No. 77 overall recruit. Notre Dame is in a close battle with Michigan, Ohio State and others for the 6-foot-5, 290-pounder.
• Notre Dame's priority at inside linebacker is Jacksonville (Fla.) Sandalwood's Branden Jennings, who moved from No. 49 to No. 46 in the Rivals100. Jennings visited Notre Dame this fall and a couple of weeks later earned an offer from the Irish. He is certainly a name to keep an eye on.
• In the secondary, there are two big Fighting Irish targets listed in the Rivals100. St. Louis (Mo.) De Smet cornerback Jakilin Johnson, the teammate of five-star Notre Dame commit Jordan Johnson (no relation) in the 2020 class, moved up from No. 64 to No. 29. His junior season was stellar, not only as a lockdown cornerback but as a playmaking wide receiver as well.
There hasn't been much movement in Monroeville (Pa.) Gateway safety Derrick Davis' recruitment, and his ranking didn't change much either. He moved one spot from No. 83 to No. 84.
RELATED: The Gold Standard | Big New Offer, Key Visits By Notre Dame
Here's where the rest of the uncommitted targets in the Rivals100 who hold an offer from Notre Dame rank:
(August rankings update to December rankings update)
DL Korey Foreman: No. 1 (ranking unchanged)
DL JT Tuimoloau: No. 3 (ranking unchanged)
CB Corey Collier: No.9 to No. 14
DL Landon Jackson: No. 58 to No. 20
CB Tony Grimes: No. 22 to No. 23
DL Monkell Goodwine: No. 26 to No. 25
DL Payton Page: No. 19 to No. 26
DL Damon Payne: No. 25 to No. 27
LB Barrett Carter: No. 56 to No. 31
WR Mario Williams: No. 39 (ranking unchanged)
DL Tywone Malone: No. 36 to No. 40
CB Ga'Quincy McKinstry: No. 32 to No. 45
WR Chris Hilton: No. 40 to No. 53
OL Donovan Jackson: No. 45 to No. 56
DL Elliot Donald: No. 78 (ranking unchanged)
Click here to see the full rankings.
----
• Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @BGI_LouSomogyi, @BGI_MikeSinger, @CoachDeDario and @AndrewMentock.
• Like us on Facebook.