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Good morning, everyone, and happy Friday. A week from now we’ll be sitting on the precipice of Week Zero and nine days after that the Irish will be kicking off the season. Let’s discuss those Irish by leaning on what we’ve learned so far this offseason by ranking nine different position groups.
This is far more art than science but there are two major components considered when putting this together. The first one is what is the upside of the group: Does it have a chance to be among the best in the country? Is there a clear All-American candidate or projected high draft pick? Ideally, is there a returning All-American? This helps sort things out at the top. The second one, which I may weigh a little more because of how sore spots can cause things around them to falter, is the downside: How low is the floor? What’s the disaster potential? Sometimes as a tiebreaker I will consider “Where does this unit fit in nationally when compared to the rest of the FBS?” Just because a unit is ranked low doesn’t mean they’re bad, and there will be some nitpicking in attempting to figure out separation when it’s close.
If you’d like additional insights on the topic, Michael Bryan of the Spreadsheets & Tailgates newsletter and Irish Sports Daily’s Greg Flammang joined me on the pod (Spotify) (Apple) to hash it out. The great Eric Hansen was also on the pod to kick off the week (talking transfers and general camp thoughts) and you’ll want to be subscribed because Freshman Orientation, Schedule Preview and Excitement Draft are all on the immediate horizon.
1) Cornerback
Notre Dame has the best corner in the country and also probably one of the best corners any college team has had in recent memory, so that’s a very good place to start and checks the upside box cleanly. Christian Gray* and Colorado transfer D.J. McKinney have played an insane amount of football (McKinney was getting some solid draft hype after the 2024 season and could perhaps reclaim that, an idea his position coach didn’t dismiss). Sophomores Dallas Golden, Mark Zackery IV (who’s bulked up) and Jayden Sanders (who spent his freshman year in Ann Arbor) all played a bunch and acquitted themselves well in their first years. There is still some question to how exactly nickel snaps will be allocated but this is a very promising group.
* Gray on why he switched his number back to 29 after playing last season as 6: “God told me to go back to 29. Six was not me. I looked at a picture of me, I said, ‘Yeah, that’s not me…I feel much better. I feel like Christian Gray.” Wonderful! The Christian Gray Nickel Experience™ has so much potential.
And I haven’t even mentioned five-star freshman Khary Adams or Top 100 freshman Ayden Pouncy, who would be more in the mix if not for the half dozen good-to-elite options in front of them. Last year’s running back unit was the epitome of a group to top this list, and 2026 corner fits the same bill as the best room in the country.
2) Safety
If not for corner, this group would be a very worthy number one. Adon Shuler is a returning captain who’s started two full seasons for two top-notch defenses. As soon as Brauntae Johnson began receiving serious snaps in 2025 he started doing a pretty serviceable Xavier Watts impression and should only be better as a junior. Luke Talich is going to move all over the field in the nickel and dime but his combination of length and speed means he’s a suitable third man to rotate in for the starters.
Sophomore Ethan Long didn’t play much last year but his offseason ascendance to being a clear playing possibility caused a mini-exodus around him on the depth chart. Despite four safeties being more than enough barring poor injury luck, I imagine Aaron Henry is going to find a place for five-star freshman Joey O’Brien, who’s 6’5” and was earning social media highlights the first couple days of camp. Very possible this is also the best room in the country.
3) Linebacker
It was a very positive sign when August camp opened with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa playing without any kind of brace on his leg and looking very much like the KVA who had 23 pressures before his injury against Syracuse (fourth on the team and 20th among every linebacker in the nation, per PFF). It was an even better sign when the junior was full go with contact during Sunday’s practice. He’s not the returning captain who led the team in tackles last season despite playing hurt -- that’s Drayk Bowen. Jaiden Ausberry has played a ton of productive football over the last two seasons and appears to have had a great offseason in the weight room. On top of that you have the versatility of Jaylen Sneed in pass rush/”Need a play” situations and sophomore Madden Faraimo, a Top 100 prospect who played in every game last season.
For the final time, I will say there’s a realistic case that this is the best room in the entire country, which makes it a realistic case that Notre Dame has the best back seven in the entire country. Nice place to be and I’d draw a line here as far as tiers.
4) Defensive line
Let’s start with the potential negative here: Can the front four generate a pass rush on its own? Does a star emerge along the interior, or is it only consistently solid? (Which would be good, but tied to question one as far as pass rush.) What does depth look like at defensive end, where a true freshman and transfer are slotted in as the third and fourth option?
Now all of the good: The rotation at the defensive interior is at least six deep, and even if there’s no pass rush pop (and there very well could be! Jason Onye had the second best PFF pressure grade on the Irish last season) I don’t know how you run on this team. It’s very possible Francis Brewu breaks out as that star, after earning freshman All-American and honorable mention All-ACC honors in his first two seasons. When we express concerns about pressure, we should also undercut those by noting new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge’s teams have traditionally had elite sack rates and last year’s Irish were top-notch at pressures even if they didn’t always get the quarterback to the ground. Elijah Hughes and Tionne Gray have already been productive in rotation roles for elite defenses so that’s their floor. Partridge loves Armel Mukam and talked the senior out of the transfer portal and into getting snaps with the starters during camp.
Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young (who’s switched to No. 95 like his dad) could be one of the best starting defensive end combos in the nation. The freshman and transfer backing them up are Rodney Dunham and Keon Keeley, both five-star talents, with Dunham looking like a million bucks since he got to campus and Keeley having increased his production toward the end of last season. Upside here is astronomical, but there is some downside if injury or a development curve blip hits.
5) Quarterback
The trickiest one to place. C.J. Carr could be the best quarterback in the nation, combining the reports from how he looked at the Manning Passing Academy, his great first year as a starter and what everyone has seen in practice all offseason. Two reasons why this isn’t higher: What if Carr is more like the sixth-ish best quarterback in the country? That’s not unreasonable — and would still be really good! — because the position is loaded this year. The other demerit is the obvious giant scary question mark behind him. I think this is the worst on-paper backup quarterback situation since…2020? 2015? But if you go way back then DeShone Kizer came in and was great so that tells you something about on-paper analysis.
(Trying to find this balance can be tricky: In 2021, I ended up with safety ranked seventh* despite the presence of one Kyle Hamilton because there were so many question marks around him. Hamilton went down and the rest of the room really stepped up, so unknown doesn’t necessarily equal bad.)
* This isn’t too embarrassing to look back on, other than you will not find the words “Joe Alt” but will find someone in peak “Talking themselves into the wide receivers every single offseason” mode. We live, we learn.
6) Offensive line
A lot of questions here but a lot to like. Moving Anthonie Knapp to guard after two years of starting outside makes him an instant All-American candidate, and even if Will Black and Guerby Lambert at tackle are a year away from that designation we’re still talking top-notch prospects with absurd size on the edge. Ashton Craig has looked healthy in camp at center and then behind him you have Joe Otting, who’s started games and who the staff seems to like. The final guard spot was a race between Sullivan Absher (who started the final five games of the season) and insurgent sophomore Matty Augustine, but Augustine went down early in camp with an injury (he’s expected to return during the season, but always wary of large men and broken feet). Craig has also been floated as an option at guard so in theory he could start there with Otting at center.
That’s a really capable top seven (if Augustine’s injury is indeed not that severe), and I don’t know how many programs in the country have seven guys they trust. Behind them, there are plenty of options to potentially rise up over the course of the season. And while we shouldn’t say “Joe Rudolph deserves some good luck with this room after all the injuries he’s dealt with since arriving in South Bend,” don’t you think Joe Rudolph deserves some good luck with this room after all the injuries he’s dealt with since arriving in South Bend? Downside here is tackles are a year away and someone gets dinged up on the interior.
(This was originally ahead of quarterback but the Augustine injury knocked it down because you’re losing a potential starter and the guy who could have backed up a number of spots. Sixth ending up looking silly low for offensive line — and/or quarterback being fifth also looking dumb — would be a wonderful sign for the season to come.)
7) Running back
I am completely sold on the Aneyas Williams and Nolan James, Jr. combination at tailback. Williams checks every single box other than “Done it before for the entire season”: His advanced stats were incredible in 2025 (against backups, but still), he performed as a true freshman against an elite defense in the Orange Bowl, he was a four-star prospect, the coaches love him and everyone who sees him at practice is impressed. Check-plus.
The way the coaches talk about James, he’s either a legit college tailback or the greatest practice player in history. (They were lauding the four-star freshman last offseason, too, but there was the tiny issue of being behind the Heisman runner-up and another first-round pick.) Kedren Young wasn’t listed on the injury report to open camp after tearing his ACL during it last year, and at 234 pounds he brings a different level of size to the equation. Ja’Juan Seider said earlier this month that four-star freshman Jonaz Walton was going to play and has only shoveled more praise onto him during camp. Fellow four-star freshman Javian Osborne is healthy after missing spring with a wrist injury, so the question is whether those lost reps put him too far behind in a crowded room.
This room is not going to be as explosive as last year but if they can be steady behind an improved offensive line and mix in some chunk plays that should be enough to balance out the passing game. There’s a case it should be ahead of offensive line but there are enough starters returning there (even if some are at new spots) we’ll give the edge to the known quantities.
(Side bar: Seider, who was coaching at Penn State in 2024, on Williams’ pass-catching ability:
“Well, it starts with confidence. He’s done it in a big game. Hell, I was on the other side of the sideline and saw him make one of the biggest catches ever, sent my ass home crying. So, you’ve seen it, right? You’ve seen it over and over, and then there were moments last year he made those plays — over-the-shoulder catch versus Stanford. Like, that’s what you love about him, because there’s no moment too big for him.
“Like, he may be the most confident kid I’ve ever been around. And that’s rare. For all of us, it’s no different, we see guys, even coaches get in front of the room and speak that first time, there’s some [lack of] confidence moments until you get going. He, from the first get-go, is already confident. And those are the traits you look for, because when the game on the line, I know I can count on that kid in that situation. Why? Because he has proven it already. It’s the truth.”)
8) Wide receiver
In the previous edition, I did a taxonomy of this position and left out sophomore Matt Jeffery (a walk-on lacrosse player who got some snaps in short yardage situations last year) and freshman Bubba Frazier (who was heavily involved in spring as an early enrollee). Management regrets the error because both of them were in the mix with the starters when camp began and Mike Denbrock implied he was going to find some way to use Frazier’s speed this season.
Sophomore Jerome Bettis, Jr. was also working with the ones, which is quite the come-up for a guy who was a three-star recruit. Devin Fitzgerald missed a practice to help induct his dad into the Hall of Fame but we’ll allow that. The staff really seems to believe in Cam Williams but the consistency needs to come. Ohio State transfer Quincy Porter started August with a hitch in his giddyup and it doesn’t seem to be improving so while we can hope the former five-star is ready to contribute in the second half of the season that’s all we have at the moment.
If you couldn’t tell we’re going in a vaguely inverted order here. With Porter out, Micah Gilbert has been getting a lot of reps as the boundary receiver, with Marcus Freeman singling out his offseason as one of the best while he receives compliments from his fellow players and highlight posts from the Irish socials. Jaden Greathouse looks healthy and incredible but the tone from the staff is almost not wanting to jinx him. Mylan Graham will absolutely be involved at the top of the receiver rotation, but the question is whether he’s a solid piece or true breakout candidate. Jordan Faison looks like a senior who led the team in receiving in 2025 and focused on one sport during the offseason (complimentary).
(General wide receiver depth thought because I’ve been downplaying it to a degree while focusing on the question of who leads the rotation: Having quality depth is great because a) More options from which your season-long stalwarts can emerge b) More chances for productive single games like “K.K. Smith vs. NC State” c) You avoid the potential of a 2023-style catastrophe when there literally aren’t enough wide receivers to run the offense you want.)
9) Tight end
The fact we ended up with tight end last is an awesome sign for this football team because it’s a stacked room full of talented guys. Why it ended up here is it feels like you have veterans who are trusted as blockers and could potentially expand their production as receivers (Cooper Flanagan, Ty Washington) and then young guns with tremendous receiving potential where it remains to be determined on their ability to do everything Denbrock wants (five-star freshman Ian Premer, James Flanigan to a lesser extent). Junior Jack Larsen rounds out the room. If Flanagan or Washington take the leap as a threat up the seam and/or Premer and/or Flanigan is ready to be the guy then this will be much higher in a December rerank. The dream here is that Premer earns his way into the mix early and shows out but that’s asking a lot for a guy who arrived to campus in June.
Normally I have more regrets about this but I’m feeling pretty good because the top three have a perfect mix of depth and real All-American upside. Easiest way to look wrong is Carr is healthy all season and a legit contender for the Heisman and No. 1 overall pick (would love to be wrong) but we have to acknowledge the potential downside if anything happens to him. Could see the offensive line not quite being fully cooked and dropping, or one of the offensive skill units has a true breakout that propels them up. Good football team, in my opinion.
If you’re reading this newsletter, I think you will enjoy this piece over at ESPN about the recent changes to how college football games are structured and managed. The big thing is that tempo and overall number of possessions are down while fourth downs continue to go up, which means that the plays prior to those fourth downs (sequencing) are being approached in a different fashion.
Here are some words from the story that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“[Coach] Marcus [Freeman] is pretty aggressive with allowing us to go for it on fourth down, depending on where we’re at on the field,” Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “So it just opens up. You can really call third down like second down. Quite frankly, we’ve been able to take advantage of that. When we broke down our third downs from last year, there were as many runs on third-and-medium as there were screens. So it just gives you an opportunity to be a little more multiple, where it’s not just always quarterback in the pocket.”
As many of you know, my only real concern with Freeman’s hiring was whether he would have Defensive Coordinator Brain when it came to game management decisions and play too conservatively. Obviously that hasn’t been the case and he’s been exceptional at approaching the game via my preferred lens (kick only if you really, really have to). I’ve also been preaching for two decades or so that if your team mentality is to approach fourth downs as an opportunity and not a scary thing that happens to you after a scary third down it makes life so much easier for an offense and a squad as a whole. That attitude becoming more of the norm is satisfying.
Also enjoyed Bill Connelly’s guide to the college football season, which includes this sage line I wish more Notre Dame fans followed: “The more smaller-school action you watch, the healthier you become and the more you love college football.”
Okay, let’s wrap this. Before we go, congrats to Friend of the Report Caroline Pineda for being named the new sideline reporter for Notre Dame’s games on NBC, wonderful news. Freshman Orientation with Jamie Uyeyama is next week on your podcast feed, and I did cook up another newsletter idea so game week will see double editions. Reminder that if you want to do some scouting, Notre Dame’s first two October opponents are playing during Week Zero in a place that is wonderful (North Carolina vs. TCU in Dublin) and also a different kind of place (Hawaii travels to Palo Alto). Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.
Great job and very thorough.