For the 95th time in history the Notre Dame spring game is here. On Saturday afternoon from inside Notre Dame Stadium the Blue-Gold Game kicks off as Marcus Freeman enters a pivotal 5th season with the Irish. The weather looks like it’ll cooperate with the forecast giving us temperatures in the low-to-mid 60’s with some light winds and partly sunny skies. For a spring game, it’s tough to find better weather than that, especially with it being so cold and windy lately.

Tickets for the game can be purchased HERE for $10 a pop.

2026 Blue–Gold Game

Notre Dame Stadium
South Bend, Indiana
Date: Saturday, April 25, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM ET
TV: Peacock

Remember this scrimmage is on Peacock only. 

In case you missed it, the jersey scrimmage was held last Saturday with the media in attendance and offered a nice glimpse into the 2026 football team. You can read the recap of events HERE as the hype train for #LeaveNoDoubt chugs along towards September.

Injury Report

QB Blake Hebert (knee)
RB Kedren Young (knee)
RB Aneyas Williams (elbow)
RB Javian Osborne (wrist)
WR Brayden Robinson (knee)
WR Quincy Porter (patella)
OL Charles Jagusah (arm)
OL Ashton Craig (knee)
OL Tyler Merrill (shoulder)
DL Tiki Hola (knee)
DL Gordy Sulfsted (shoulder)
DL Jason Onye (hand)
LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (knee)
LB Drayk Bowen (hip)
LB Madden Faraimo (wrist)
LB Kahanu Kia (knee)
LB Jakobe Clapper (shoulder)
CB Khary Adams (shoulder)
CB Cam Reddish (shoulder)
CB Dallas Golden (back)

Things could definitely be better! If you’re just checking in since the early spring, most of these injuries came from the 2025 season and/or were announced when practices began over a month ago, so don’t act surprised!

Blake Hebert tweaked his knee the practice before the jersey scrimmage (so 8 days before the Blue-Gold Game). I think he’ll be available for the spring game, although the immediate presence of a knee brace for his injury is a little concerning.

Hebert is probable this weekend, I guess.

Jason Onye had a small fracture in his hand that was operated on about 3 weeks ago.

It was a hot start for true freshman Cam Reddish in his first spring but he misses the back half of practice after having shoulder surgery. Additionally, sophomore corner Dallas Golden has a lower back strain that they’re deciding to rest and keep him off the field.

Spring Game Roster

I usually type out the available players for the spring game in this section. Not this year! Instead, I broke out a pencil and some markers. Feel free to print this off to impress your friends and family on Saturday.

High definition depth chart 🙂 

10 Things to Watch

How long will Carr stay in the game?

If things are anything like last weekend’s jersey scrimmage, CJ Carr could be moving the ball with relative ease again on Saturday. The cornerback and linebacker depth have taken a hit which isn’t going to help the defense slowing down the quick-processing Carr. One would hope we see plenty of action against front-line players but it wouldn’t take much for Carr to be slinging it against some walk-ons.

At that point, you have to wonder how much it’s worth to keep Carr on the field.

Also, if Hebert is available will he be healthy enough to play a lot of snaps? I think we’ll see Carr playing at least through the first half but the second half could be a whole lot of true freshman Grubbs gaining experience inside Notre Dame Stadium.

James’ first national audition

Another reason why Carr might throw for 300 yards in the first half before taking a seat is the lack of bodies at running back. Not great! This will be the first time Irish nation gets a really good look at the spring rising Nolan James and he could end up getting 25 carries, or maybe 5 carries before they decide to protect his health.

Nolan James is looking for a co-starting role this fall.

True freshman Jonaz Walton has been turning some heads and he’ll get plenty of spotlight, too. Still, many will want to see if James can flash and what type of ceiling he may have as a player. The step down from the Love/Price duo will continue to be a talking point for this offense until proven otherwise.

Receiver breakout

We can expect anything to happen this weekend for the receiving corps, and as mentioned there should be plenty of footballs flying around the air in South Bend on Saturday. This is one position where there are plenty of healthy bodies so someone like Jordan Faison could be exiting quite early to make way for younger players.

We’re eager to see transfer Mylan Graham after he’s been described as the most athletically gifted receiver on the team. Can any of the boundary receivers make some noise, and will that have to wait until Leonard Moore isn’t covering them? Is freshman Bubba Frazier a legit option to play in the slot? We kind of know who the top 2 or 3 receivers are right now, and the spring game will be a glimpse into sorting through the middle of the depth chart.

Raising the tight end ceiling

It’s been a quiet spring for the tight end position because, well, the media doesn’t really get to see much practice. We’ve heard about the feistiness of Cooper Flanagan, but anything else? I’ve read and heard it said that this group should be better than the 2025 offering. Are we sure? It seems like it might be a better-by-committee type of situation right now but realistically it would be nice if someone jumped up and became a bona fide no. 1 tight end who can lift up the offense in critical moments.

Will we see someone flash NFL-level receiving skills in the Blue-Gold Game?

The next men in up front

Nothing has been as locked up this spring as the (current) starting 5 along the offensive line. Sure, we still have plenty of questions but Freeman has been steadfast on a couple occasions this spring that this unit has gelled really well together.

Redshirt freshman Augustine back on his commitment day. 

I’m more interested in seeing someone like Matty Augustine and his progress. The beat have mentioned he’s basically the backup tackle/guard and 6th man right now, yet we still know so little about him! Who knows what we’ll see from Jagusah’s injury situation, but Craig should definitely be coming back to fight for his center job. Is there anyone else competing with Augustine as a valued backup? How about someone like Owen Strebig? He’s watching his classmate grabbing a starting left tackle spot while he’s (for now) still working with the 3rd-team offense behind his other classmate Augustine.

The waves on the defensive line

There are so many players here, where do you start? Keon Kelley has been conspicuously absent from the small amount of practice report hype that has filled the webpages this spring. We won’t panic yet, but mental notes have been taken. Elsewhere on the edge, is someone fast and long like Ebenezer Ewetade ready to move up the depth chart? That certainly seems to be the case for freshman classmate Rodney Dunham who, based on current growth, could be receiving backup snaps by the middle of the season.

The interior has a wealth of talent to throw out there on the field this weekend, even with the absence of possible starter Jason Onye. Like last year though, we’ll be watching to see if there’s someone who can really become a star and develop into the unquestioned leader of this group.

Dunham has been a bright spot among the freshmen.

There are quite a few young players to keep an eye on, for sure. Chief among them are Chris Burgess and Elijah Golden. The former has added a ton of size since arriving on campus and the latter was someone on the radar as a contributor during his freshman season. We haven’t heard amazing things from either player this spring though, and it’s going to be a tough depth chart to crack open in the fall.

Chances for linebackers

We’re assuming due to a lack of depth that Ausberry and Sneed will be contributing heavily at Mike linebacker during the first half of the Blue-Gold Game. If they aren’t on the field, linebacker is a major weakness for the team and should really be an area where the offensive line wins a ton of battles in the running game.

In other words, the likes of Kia and Rezac could be in for a long (but educational!) day trying to play linebacker for most of this game. Sure, it’s just a spring game but it’s a big opportunity to flash something for both of those players.

Comfortability at nickel

The Christian Gray experience at nickel has persisted all spring long and should make its Blue-Gold Game debut on Saturday. From the small glimpses by the media, Gray has looked comfortable in this new role and with the lack of options available he could get a lot of work on Saturday, despite being one of the most veteran players on the team and someone ideally you’d like to rest.

PSA: Gray is back to no. 29 after wearing no. 6 last year.

Jayden Sanders should rotate in at nickel, too. The Michigan transfer has had a quiet spring, I think. He’s just a sophomore so there’s still plenty of time to develop.

Too good at safety

Safety looks to be in great shape and if there is to be an area where the defense can fight back against a Carr-led offense expect it to be with these players. Now that I think about it, has Brandon Logan been practicing with the team at all while he’s also playing on the Irish baseball team? He may not be available.

Consistent kicking

Spencer Porath went 9 for 9 last week during the jersey scrimmage (practice + actual scrimmage kicks combined) and if he can show that level of consistency it’ll go a long way to calming the nerves of Notre Dame fans coming off an incredibly shaky 2025 performance in this area of special teams.

We’ll throw new punter Jasper Scaife in the mix, too. The last Aussie punter took some time to get acclimated to the American football game. At the very least, it’d be nice to see Scaife showing some comfort in his setup on Saturday.