:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70376034/1235196373.0.jpg)
On Tuesday, Notre Dame Fighting Irish WR Joe Wilkins announced his decision to return to South Bend for one more year.
Wilkins was a 2018 commitment and underwent some position switching while at Notre Dame. He finally cracked a major role in 2021 as a rotational starter, but suffered a season-ending MCL injury after four games.
As far as positional groups are concerned, wide receiver is the one with the most question marks for the Irish in 2022. We saw the damage that happens with a lack of depth when Notre Dame ran itself stupid against OSU in the Fiesta Bowl. They need BODIES for 2022, and a one man recrutiing class wasn’t going to get it done. Despite losing Kevin Austin to the NFL Draft, the Irish now return a nice handful of veteran players at the position as well as some very talented youngsters.
As I understand it, Wilkins should be able to practice this spring (nothing official yet) which definitely adds to the bodies needed to put in the work. I don’t think Notre Dame is quite done adding to its WR room for 2022, but at least the returning players are confirmed and ready for the fire.
2022 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th/6th Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position / Year | Freshmen | Sophomore | Junior | Senior | 5th/6th Year |
| Quarterback | Steve Angeli | Tyler Buchner, Ron Powlus III | Drew Pyne | - | - |
| Running Back | Jadarian Price, Gi'Bran Payne | Logan Diggs, Audric Estime | Chris Tyree | - | - |
| Tight End | Eli Raridon, Holden Staes | Cane Berrong, Mitchell Evans | Michael Mayer, Kevin Bauman | - | - |
| Wide Receiver | Tobias Merriweather | Lorenzo Styles, Deion Colzie, Jayden Thomas | - | - | Braden Lenzy, Joe Wilkins, Avery Davis, Matt Salerno |
| Center | Ashton Craig | Pat Coogan | - | Zeke Correll | Jarrett Patterson |
| Guard | Billy Schrauth | Rocco Spindler | - | Andrew Kristofic, | Josh Lugg |
| Tackle | Joey Tanona, Ty Chan, Aamil Wagner | Blake Fisher, Joe Alt, Caleb Johnson | Michael Carmody, Tosh Baker | - | - |
| Defensive Tackle | Donovan Hinish, Tyson Ford | Gabriel Rubio | Aidan Keanaaina, Rylie Mills | Howard Cross, Jacob Lacey | Jayson Ademilola, Chris Smith |
| Defensive End | Aiden Gobaira | Jason Onye, Will Schweitzer | Alexander Ehrensberger, Jordan Botelho | NaNa Osafo-Mensah, Isaiah Foskey, Osita Ekwonu | Justin Ademilola |
| Linebacker | Nolan Ziegler, Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka, Jaylen Sneed | Prince Kollie | - | Jack Kiser, Marist Liufau, JD Bertrand | Bo Bauer |
| Safety | Jayden Bellamy | Justin Walters | Xavier Watts, Ramon Henderson, Brandon Joesph | - | D.J. Brown, Houston Griffith |
| Cornerback | Jayden Mickey, Benjamin Morrison | Ryan Barnes, Chance Tucker, Philip Riley | Clarence Lewis | Cam Hart | TaRiq Bracy |
| Specialists | Bryce McFerson (P) | Josh Bryan (K) | Alex Peitsch (LS) | - | Michael Vinson (LS), Blake Grupe (K) |
| Totals | 22/85 (22) | 45/85 (23) | 60/85 (15) | 71/85 (11) | 86/85 (15) |