2022 LB Gabe Powers Coveted by Notre Dame & The Nation's Best

Marysville (Ohio) linebacker Gabe Powers‍ is one of the most coveted prospects in the 2022 recruiting class and you'd never know it. 

It's not often you see a mix of schools from the South and West Coast come to Ohio for a recruit, but it speaks to the talent of Powers. 

The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder holds around 20 offers from Notre Dame, Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee, USC and many more. 

"With Covid, I wasn't able to take any visits or anything," Powers told Irish Sports Daily. "It's starting to slow up because coaches are beginning to get back with their team. They have to focus on the upcoming season." 

Notre Dame is one of the schools that stopped by his high school in early in 2020 and were one of the first programs to offer the four-star prospect. 

"Coach (Mike) Elston is a really good guy," Powers explained. "He and my dad played against each other in high school, so they know each other well. We're really getting to get there for a visit to really talk to him, meet the team and see the coaching staff." 

Maryville sits 30 minutes Northwest of The Ohio State University and Powers has heard a lot from the Buckeyes over the last few months.

"There are schools reach out more than others, but since my dad is the coach, they can call him and stuff like that," said Powers. "It works out well for me with my dad being the coach.

"Ohio State has been reaching out a lot. They're probably the top team in terms of reaching out and stayed in contact." 

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted Powers as with every other prospect around the country, but he's not letting it stop his development on the field.

"We're about six weeks into our lifting and conditioning," Powers stated. "Next week, we will start camp and stuff.

"It's been really different. It doesn't affect me weight room wise or anything like that, but recruiting wise, it has impacted me." 

The weight room is an area Powers has developed a love for and it shows in his lifts.

"I'm pretty solid in all my lifts right now," Powers said. "I haven't maxed out in a while. My deadlift has always been one of the big ones. I'm probably deadlifting around 600." 

It's also easy to see why Powers has dedicated himself to the weight room as he's an extremely physical player and it's something he takes a significant amount of pride in. 

"I'm very physical, blue-collar and my intelligence for the game is very high. I've been coached to play linebacker since the day I could walk. I understand the ins and outs of the game. 

"I use my athletic ability, speed and length a lot. I've focused on getting more agile, bigger and stronger." 

Powers has the rare combination of athleticism, explosion, length and speed, which has turned him into one of the nation's most coveted prospects.

"Most schools are recruiting me at linebacker," explained Powers. "Some are saying if I grew or got up to 260-270, then I could play defensive end. Right now, it's just linebacker." 

As far as a decision, Powers isn't in a hurry to make one and while he might be a short drive from Columbus, he doesn't feel the pressure to play for the Buckeyes. 

"There isn't any pressure," said Powers. "I'm not going to make a decision for a while. The earliest would be next summer, so there isn't pressure."