Notre Dame Must Get: A Dominant Outside Receiver Is Still A Need In The 2022 Class

Notre Dame needs more playmakers, and adding a dominant outside receiver is a must in the 2022 recruiting class

Notre Dame has one wide receiver in the 2022 class after landing Ponchatoula (La.) High School pass catcher Amorion Walker. If Notre Dame wants to close the gap with premier teams like Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State it must land another outside receiver, and it must be a prospect with an even higher floor and ceiling than Walker.

There are multiple players on the board right now that fit that criteria, and Notre Dame absolutely must land one of those four players in the 2022 class.

CJ WILLIAMS

The Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei standout isn't the outside burner receiver that many fans are clamoring for, but he's a dynamic wide receiver nonetheless. Williams is a physical football player, an instinctive football player and he can take over a game with volume production.

If you're looking for the next Will Fuller this is not your guy. If you think you can be dominant with an AJ Brown (Ole Miss) or JuJu Smith-Schuster (USC) type of player, which I do, you'll love a player like Williams. He's a smooth yet powerful athlete, he knows how to work the zones, he uses his strength to win on the perimeter and he's good enough after the catch to keep you honest.

Notre Dame was once considered the leader for Williams, but the Irish have fallen way off. It would be worth it to try to fix that problem, but right now it's not looking good for Notre Dame.

ANDRE GREENE JR.

Greene is one of my favorite wide receivers in this class, and the primary reason is that the Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher's star is not even close to tapping into his full potential. Greene is quite raw, and right now he just dominates high school players. If he goes to a college with a strong receivers coach his game is going to explode.

Greene has outstanding size and length, he is a strong all-around athlete and he shows the natural feel for the position big-time receivers need. He can dominate on outside and vertical routes, he works in and out of zones with ease and he has the skillset that could play the boundary and the field outside positions in the Notre Dame offense.

The 6-3, 180-pound wideout is still very early in his recruitment, and Notre Dame needs to lock him into a visit once those start happening again.

TOBIAS MERRIWEATHER

Merriweather is one of my favorite receivers in this class. Even as a sophomore he showed the length, elite ball skills and vertical speed to be a game-changer, and there's still plenty of room for him to grow and develop. Notre Dame has made a living with big, long, vertical players on the outside, and Merriweather certainly comes from the Chase Claypool/Miles Boykin school of receiver play.

I'm curious to see where his game goes next. He was skinny as a sophomore, but that didn't keep him from being an impact one-on-one player and a good contested throw pass catcher. If he starts to fill out and grows into his big frame his ability to dominate on the outside could start getting into the five-star range.

Notre Dame is very much in the mix on this one, but getting him away from the West Coast is going to be a challenge.

DARRIUS CLEMONS

Clemons, like Merriweather, is a long strider that can stretch the defense. He has deceptive speed and his body and game reminds me a great deal of Boykin at the same age. He won't look fast, but he'll still beat you deep, and his length and ball skills make him a weapon on contested throws. Players like Clemons, and the other players on this list, are open even when they are covered, and that's something Notre Dame likes and needs on offense.

Clemons put Notre Dame in his top list this weekend, but this point I don't know where Notre Dame stands with him. If I had to offer a guess I would say the Irish are in the bottom half of his top group, but it's better to be in the bottom half than to not be on the list.

There are other outside receivers on the board, players like Alabama's Jarel Williams, Texas's Nicholas Anderson and New York's Addison Copeland, but neither are needle mover prospects. They are solid prospects but not the kind Notre Dame should be going after now that Walker is in the class.

Hopefully the board continues to expand and the Irish are able to get back in with players like Tetairoa McMillan and Elijah King, but where things stand right now the keys to having a top wide receiver haul that closes the gap with the Irish and the nation's premier programs is landing one of Williams, Greene, Merriweather and Clemons.

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board

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