IB Insider: Notre Dame Continues Making A Push For Elite Defensive Haul

Notre Dame had its second recruiting weekend of the June period the past three days, and the Irish staff continues to make a push for an elite defensive class.

Of course the most obvious big news from the weekend was the commitment of linebacker Niuafe Tuihalamaka, who pledged to the Irish on Saturday.

Below is the latest Irish Breakdown has been able to gather from sources about how things went with the defensive prospects that were on campus this weekend.

NOTRE DAMES A MOVE WITH XAVIER NWANKPA

For weeks Irish Breakdown has been telling you that coming into the June visits it was clear that Ohio State was the leader for Pleasant Hill (Iowa) Southeast Polk star safety Xavier Nwankpa. According to multiple sources, Nwankpa came very, very close to committing to the Buckeyes during his June 4-6 official visit.

Ultimately, Nwankpa decided to continue taking his visits, and he was on campus this weekend to visit Notre Dame. According to those I spoke with the Fighting Irish absolutely put their best foot forward.

Coming out of the visit there is growing confidence in South Bend that Notre Dame has gone a long way towards closing the gap with the favored Buckeyes. Notre Dame's staff did a great job showing Nwankpa what makes the program standout from others on his list.

There are the typical aspects like academics, what a degree from Notre Dame can do, small campus and other things we often hear about. Beyond that, however, the Irish staff also showed how his role would be different on the field as well.

Notre Dame had five 2022 commits on campus this weekend and Nwankpa was a priority for those players. From what we are told the elite safety connected very well with the Irish commits and sees the kind of high-level front seven Notre Dame is building.

CYRUS MOSS WAS A BIT HARD TO READ

Nwankpa is absolutely a must-get gap closer, but he wasn't the only high-level talent to be on campus on the defensive side of the ball. He was joined this weekend by Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman edge defender Cyrus Moss.

According to sources the visit went well, but Moss is very much a "keep things close to the vest" type of young man. Therefore it was hard to get a read on how things went with him this weekend. Defensive line coach Mike Elston has connected quite well with Moss, and that only grew during the visit.

By all accounts Moss enjoyed himself and learned plenty about Notre Dame, but there isn't as much confidence from my sources that the Fighting Irish were able to make up ground with his leaders (Oregon) as they were with Nwankpa.

Moss is in no hurry to make a decision, so there is still plenty of time for the Notre Dame staff to continue pushing up his list, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done here.

NOTRE DAME STILL PUSHING FOR JAYDEN BELLAMY

Notre Dame has just one defensive back in the class, and that is California cornerback Jaden Mickey. The Irish are in great position with Benjamin Morrison and Devin Moore, who visited last weekend, and this weekend the Irish also hosted Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic defensive back Jayden Bellamy.

Bellamy is an intriguing prospect that has cornerback size (5-11, 175), but he plays mostly at safety and his game is more ideally suited for that position. According to sources that flexibility is one of the things Notre Dame likes about him, which is why the Irish staff still brought him on campus this weekend while canceling the visit for Florida cornerback Nikai Martinez.

I'm still trying to get more information on how this visit went, but the information I have gathered so far is positive. Notre Dame made it clear to Bellamy he's a player they want and sold him on the fact he does bring versatility to the secondary, which is desired.

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame Summer Roster
Notre Dame Football: 2021 Overview

Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Offense
Notre Dame 2022 Commits Big Board: Defense

2022 Big Board: Running Back
2022 Big Board: Slot Receivers

Notre Dame 2022 Scholarship Offers

Notre Dame 2022 Class Big Board

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