Irish Recruiting: Top Midwest 2022 Prospects - Part II
During the second addition of top Midwest prospects to know, I discuss the speed and athletic skill to be had from Midwest states, and one behemoth that is in Notre Dame’s backyard.
Kaleb Brown, RB, 5-11, 180, Chicago (Ill.) St. Rita
One of the most natural and fluid runners regardless of classification, Brown’s speed and open-field maneuvers allow him to toy with high school competition. Not only fast, Brown can slow down and speed back up in an instant, fooling defenders.
He’s also capable of lowering his shoulder and nailing a defender. Despite all of his other talents, Brown’s best attribute may be side stepping and jumping over defenders near his feet. A defender usually needs to hit Brown head-on to tackle him, and that’s no easy task. He provides a wide range of moves to make defenders miss.
Brown’s recruitment already took off. He earned offers from Michigan State, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Notre Dame, Duke, and Nebraska. He’s going to add many more come Sep. 1 when college coaches can contact juniors.
Reggie Fleurima, WR, 6-2, 200, Naperville (Ill.) Central
A natural wide receiver, Fleurima makes the tough catches seem simple. Quick in and out of his cuts, Fleurima sets up defensive backs much better than the vast majority of high school wide receivers. Over the middle, deep down the sideline, or a simple slant, Fleurima’s ability to make catches in traffic also make him a prime prospect.
Physically, Fleurima possesses the frame to become a red zone threat cornerbacks can rarely match up with. He’s going to be 205, perhaps 210-pounds when all is said and done. Combining his size, route running and ability to set up defensive backs, and it’s no surprise colleges took notice.
Michigan State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, and Virginia Tech represent some of Fleurima’s offers. As he gains strength and speed, that list will grow.
William Johnson, CB/WR, 6-2, 180, Grosse Pointe Farms (Mich.) Grosse Pointe South
From all the Midwest prospects covered in the first or second addition of the best Midwest prospects, Johnson might possess the highest ceiling. Extremely long arms, great change of direction, good hands, hips to play cornerback, and speed make Johnson a dangerous player on both sides of the football.
Johnson is a smooth and natural athlete. He knows when to attack or when to be subtle and surprise the opposition. Football instincts would also be a part of his arsenal. That’s why his offer list is already becoming crowded. Notre Dame needs to jump in soon or it will be an uphill climb.
LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Oklahoma represent an elite list of offers, but he’s just getting started. Johnson deserves to be called a special talent.
Demon Moore, OG, 6-4, 305, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Snyder
An athletic and powerful interior offensive lineman, Moore moves in space very well. He finishes his blocks the way a dominant high school offensive lineman should, by overpowering the opponent. He’s a physically imposing player that looks to dominate.
Moore is a flexible interior offensive lineman, and that’s rare. Not the stiff, bulky, straight-ahead power player that many would be accustomed to seeing for the offensive guard position, Moore moves his feet well. Perhaps his best attribute would be pulling and kicking out versus smaller and quicker players. Still, he finds his mark and makes the block.
Playing roughly two hours from South Bend, Moore should be a prospect that Notre Dame keeps tabs on moving forward. Indiana, Purdue and Missouri would be his first three offers.
Xavier Nwankpa, S/WR, 6-2, 180, Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk
A natural at tracking the football in the air, Nwankpa defines the body and style of play that embodies a true safety prospect. He will come down hill to batter a running back, or he will steal an interception from a wide receiver during a jump ball. He’s a talented athlete, period.
That’s also why Nwankpa could play wide receiver, no question. The ability to change direction, good hands and speed would allow him to play on either side of the football in college.
Notre Dame already hosted Nwankpa for an unofficial visit. Several programs took notice of Nwankpa, and he already received offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Michigan and Notre Dame.
Overall, the 2022 Midwest class provides much better versatility than the 2021 class, at least as it relates to Notre Dame. Only ten of the prospects were mentioned, and it could have been twenty.
More prospects from Notre Dame-friendly areas like Illinois, Indiana and even Michigan to a degree, will allow the Irish to mine local talent. It’s a banner year in Wisconsin as well, and Notre Dame offered two of those prospects (more to come about them later this week). It was hard to just narrow this list down to a list of ten players in two articles combined.
If the Irish can land five, perhaps seven top-notch prospects from Midwest states, it would be huge for the Notre Dame 2022 recruiting class. The Irish must take advantage because this level of Midwest talent will not be the case each year.
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