Notre Dame Makes Top 3 For Elite Safety Xavier Nwankpa
Arguably the most important recruit for Notre Dame in the 2022 class has named the Fighting Irish as one of his three finalists. That recruit is Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk star safety Xavier Nwankpa, who named Notre Dame, Ohio State and Iowa as his top schools.
Nwankpa and defensive lineman Anthony Lucas are the top two targets on the board, but safety is an even bigger need for the Irish, and the Iowa native is arguably the best safety in the country.
Notre Dame has been heavily involved with Nwankpa for quite some time, and after being close to committing to Ohio State this summer the 6-2, 185-pound safety decided to let things play out. His June visit to Notre Dame proved impactful and made the Irish a serious contender for his services.
Nwankpa ranks as the nation's No. 13 overall player by 247Sports and SI All-American ranks him as the nation's No. 35 overall player.
Here is my film analysis of Nwankpa:
Although not quite as long, Nwankpa reminds me a great deal of current Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. He's the true modern day safety; he can play centerfield, he's a major force in the alleys, he's a quality run defender, he grades out extremely well in man coverage and he's incredibly productive.
He's tall, long and his range is truly outstanding. At times Nwankpa doesn't look like he's running all that fast, but his long strides and acceleration allow him to close on routes and close on ball carriers in a hurry.
Nwankpa is a smooth and fluid athlete that shows top-notch foot quickness and balance. His change of direction is impressive, and Nwankpa's ability to plant his foot and quickly explode downhill makes him a major weapon against the run and also allows him to quickly drive on routes. Nwankpa will need to clean up his footwork, but he shows the agility, flexibility and acceleration to open and run at a high level.
What makes Nwankpa such a tremendous safety is that he's exceptionally productive. I was surprised how often he got his hands on the football at the prep level. My surprise wasn't that a top player was productive, more so my surprise was watching specific plays and saying to myself, "No way he gets to that one," and then his acceleration would take over and he'd get to the ball and either break it up, pick it off or drill the receiver in order to dislodge the ball.
It's one thing to be long and athletic, but you can't be as productive on the ball as Nwankpa without also being a highly instinctive and smart football player. His high football IQ is another reason Nwankpa reminds me so much of Hamilton. Nwankpa's anticipation is special, and his route recognition is advanced for such a young player.
Nwankpa is also thin like Hamilton was in high school, but he's a well-defined player, he's a strong tackler and he's got some pop when he arrives at the ball.
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