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Notre Dame football comes into the season ranked sixth in the preseason AP Top 25. After finishing the season with a loss to Ohio State in the National Title Game, hopes are high in South Bend. As they get ready to open the season against Miami (FL) on August 31, there are still position battles to be decided before Week 1.
The Marcus Freeman era did not get started well. He took over for Brian Kelly after the former coach took the job at LSU. The new head coach would take over for the Fiesta Bowl and lose to Oklahoma State. Freeman then started the next season 0-2, becoming the first coach in Notre Dame history to start his career with three straight losses.
Since then, he has built Notre Dame into a title contender. It was an 8-5 season in 2022, before a 10-3 2023 season. In 2024, they opened the season with a win over Texas A&M on the road, but would then be upset by Northern Illinois. Still, the team would not lose again until the title game against Ohio State.
The Irish are bringing back some solid production. They are 62nd in the nation in returning production, but are bringing back 11 total starters. That still leaves 11 starting positions open, including the quarterback position. This has led to three key position battles to watch.
The secondary has a spot open
The Notre Dame defense was great last year. They finished 2024 fourth in the nation in opponent points per game. They were also fantastic against the pass. The Irish would finish fourth in all of college football against the pass in 2024. Now, they return three of their four starting secondary players from last year. Christian Gray and Leonard Moore both return at the corner position, while Adon Shuler returns at safety. This does leave one safety position open.
In 2024, Xavier Watts held down the position. The 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner was great in 2024, with 83 tackles, nine pass breakups, six interceptions, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown. Jalen Stroman has the inside route to get the job. The former Virginia Tech starter transferred to the Irish this offseason. He missed most of the 2024 season with a clavicle injury and would also miss spring practice with the injury.
In his time as a starter, he was solid. Over two full seasons, he had 98 tackles with four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Still, there are injury concerns that continue to linger for the safety. This has led to Tae Johnson and Luke Talich also fighting for the job. Johnson was a four-star recruit, ranked 66th nationally. The Indiana native played in three games for Notre Dame as a freshman and has shown some promise.
Meanwhile, Talich has completed two seasons with the Irish, coming in as a walk-on. He played in all 16 games and had an interception that he returned for a touchdown. Talich has shown himself to be a solid player on special teams and can contribute on defense, but does not have the same talent as Stroman or Johnson. The team needs to replace a lot of production with Watts moving on, and to continue their defensive dominance, this is a major position to watch.
Who will be the outside threat for the Irish?
The receiving game is looking to replace a fair amount of production. Jaden Greathouse returns, and he led the team with 592 yards and four touchdowns. Beaux Collins and Mitchell Evans are both off to the NFL, leaving a major hole in the receiving core. The main position is one of the outside receivers. Greathouse is more of a slot receiver, but can play on the outside. Malachi Fields will play on the boundary, but this still leaves another receiving spot.
One option is Jordan Faison. Faison was a walk-on to the football team, coming into the university on a partial scholarship for lacrosse. He is a big game star. The receiver was the 2023 Sun Bowl MVP for the Irish, hauling in 115 yards and a score. In lacrosse, he also scored in the 2024 National Championship game on the way to defeating Maryland. Faison has been inconsistent in his football career. He had four games over 45 yards receiving, but all of them against ranked opponents.
The other option is Will Pauling. Pauling has spent time at Wisconsin and, before that, Cincinnati. In his last two seasons at Wisconsin, he brought in 116 receptions for 1,244 yards while finding the end zone nine times. He has been a great receiver, but has also not played on the outside. The former Badger is a slot receiver naturally. With that position taken up by Greathouse, he could split time with Faison on the outside, while also stepping up as a fourth receiver. If Faison cannot produce on the outside, Pauling could snag the job. Regardless of who gets the job, he needs a quarterback to throw him the ball.
Notre Dame needs to decide on a quarterback
Riley Leonard is now a member of the Indianapolis Colts, and the team needs to replace him at quarterback. The expectation was that Steve Angeli could potentially be the man, but he has transferred to Syracuse. This has left CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey to fight for the starting job. They will be replacing more than passing production, as Leonard ran for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns.
They do get Jeremiyah Love to help them out. One of the top running backs in the nation will be a massive help to the new quarterback after running for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns last year. He was also solid in the receiving game with 237 yards and two scores.
Carr, the grandson of former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr, took a redshirt year in his first season. He has missed valuable practice time in his days at Notre Dame due to injury, but will compete for the job. Carr was highly recruited out of high school and is a solid passer with some mobility. He is the slightly more accurate quarterback of the two, but also lacks experience.
The other option is Minchey. The redshirt sophomore has a little more experience, but has not started a game before. He did get more practice reps last year, which could give him a leg up. Further, he has been around an extra year overall. Minchey is faster than Carr and has better mobility. His arm is also stronger. Still, he is less accurate. The battle has been described as neck-and-neck between the two. The new quarterback will have some big shoes to fill, but the talent around him should allow the new starter to thrive as they attempt to bring Notre Dame its first National Title since 1988.
