We have a good idea of the situation at most positions for Notre Dame football as kickoff in Miami moves closer. However, another August of mostly closed practices leaves mystery and intrigue surrounding a handful of spots on the roster. The most overwhelmingly public of those being the quarterback position and the massive decision which looms large over the entire program. As of this writing no decision has been made.

We’ll discuss that and much more with exactly 2 weeks to go until the 2025 season kicks off for the Fighting Irish.

Injury Report

OUT: RB Kedren Young, TE Cooper Flanagan, OT Charles Jagusah

DOUBTFUL: DE Jordan Botelho, DT Brendan Vernon

PROBABLE: RB Aneyas Williams, OG Sullivan Absher, DE Josh Burnham

Redshirt freshman Kedren Young is the most recent injury after tearing his right ACL during practice. The team’s largest running back was in the mix for some reps although this position is still very deep. Flanagan is 8 months clear of his Achilles tear and likely won’t play this year. The unfortunate broken arm for Jagusah was a set back for 2025 although the door remains open for a return at some point this season.

We’ll discuss Botelho more below as he comes back from a pectoral injury. I haven’t seen much information on Brendan Vernon’s progress as he comes back from a knee injury, although he should be close to healthy soon.

Recent reports had Aneyas Williams picking up an elbow injury and he’s been feeling better lately. Sullivan Absher was dealing with a back issue and also getting healthy while Josh Burnham has been seen with a possible groin problem in recent practices. Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse reportedly had a concussion or head injury that he’s completely moved on from recently.

QUARTERBACK

We’re publishing this right as the jersey scrimmage is being held for the team on Sunday morning which might provide some clarity and a decision about the starting quarterback job. It’s possible that Marcus Freeman will want to wait to name a quarterback publicly although keeping that under wraps will be difficult over the next 2 weeks as the national media will begin to descend, producers for television packages want pre-season interviews taped, and the public demands more clarity. Either way, let’s hope they make a decision internally soon.

The recent scuttlebutt has redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey ahead at the moment. A few thoughts on the situation:

1) It seemed a little strange to me that momentum had built around Carr after the spring and throughout the summer to the point where many fans of the program are different shades of shocked that Minchey could win the competition. I don’t think this all attributed to the spring game (where Carr looked better) although for the average fan that surely plays a part.

A quarterback competition held mostly behind closed doors. 

There was nothing overwhelmingly supportive in favor of Carr but the beat media did really seem to swing a bit in his favor in a way that seemed more hopeful than factual. I don’t think there was anything nefarious about this. Still, when very little of practice is being viewed and Freeman runs a tight ship in terms of leaks to the media this is how narratives can gain momentum if they aren’t entirely accurate.

I wrote this on April 29th about the situation after Steve Angeli transferred out:

“Trying to put some sportsbooks odds on this quarterback battle it has to be solidly in favor of Kenny Minchey. Is it 60-40 in favor of him? Is it as much as 70-30 right now? He has the stronger arm, more explosiveness, better running ability, and has been tagged with the all-important high ceiling. While he’s not super experienced (3 career pass attempts, 3 career completions!) on the field and doesn’t have more than just a third’s share this past spring practicing with the 1st-string offense, he’s now the veteran leader of the room.”

2) Somewhere along the way I noticed a lot of people not necessarily disparaging Minchey’s abilities but handing the skill-set awards in nearly every category to Carr instead. This was never my impression of things through this past spring, though. Does Minchey not have the stronger arm and can run a little better?

Another twist is that prior to camp I read plenty of takes that Minchey has the big arm but it was turnovers and possibly accuracy issues that were an impediment to winning the job. Now, if the light reports of the situation (which could be fake news) are to be believed it’s been Carr who has struggled in August trying to push a little too hard and has been turning the ball over while Minchey has been the steadier one.

My personal feelings were that Carr’s package looked very tantalizing and he’s shown an incredible high-level of throwing ability and accuracy to date–but we’ve seen very little of the overall picture in practices. It’s difficult not to fall into the trap that there’s something “wrong” with Carr now but maybe it’s just possible that Minchey is actually really good and developing closer to his ceiling that many used to talk about months ago?

RUNNING BACK

These things matter a little less in the Roster Era of college football but it was curious that Notre Dame decided to carry 6 running backs this year. As it worked out, the loss of Young for the season opens up an opportunity for freshman Nolan James who is reported to have had an excellent camp. Perhaps a redshirt will not be in the cards for James, particularly with Notre Dame set to lose some veteran tailbacks after 2025. They might want to get him ready sooner rather than later.

PSA: Williams switched from #20 to #22 this off-season.

Of course, Love and Price will play a lot but how the remaining carries are dished out will be a closely watched battle. While James looked to be surging up the depth chart a week ago it’s important to remember Aneyas Williams looked incredibly impressive at times last year and Gi’Bran Payne lurks as a trusty veteran.

WIDE RECEIVER

The top 4 at wide receiver is pretty solidified with Malachi Fields at the boundary, Jordan Faison at the field, Jaden Greathouse in the slot, and Will Pauling in the slot but also looking to get reps at the field, as well. I would think this group gets an enormous amount of snaps especially early in the season and on the road at Miami.

The next group hoping to see the field includes Micah Gilbert, KK Smith, Cam Williams, Logan Saldate, and Elijah Burress. It’s not a small group! After not getting much press, Saldate looks to have improved but if he’s stuck in the slot there won’t be many snaps available. Early in camp Burress was collecting plenty of hype. As we draw closer to real games it’ll be interesting to see if he’s really in contention to play–he may be the long-term answer at the the field position although expecting him to jump into the top 4 receivers right now seems like too much.

TIGHT END

We might be shaping up for the fewest tight end snaps in recent memory for the Irish. While they won’t miss Kevin Bauman’s 6 career receptions he was at least a veteran presence and someone they could feel comfortable putting out there in Hard Rock Stadium to block. I’ll be curious to see how much they lean on the experienced transfer Ty Washington making his debut for Notre Dame soon. From the brief reports out of camp throughout August true freshman James Flanigan (it’s going to be so confusing when Cooper Flanagan gets healthy, even their numbers are similar) has really impressed thus far. Eli Raridon will be the starter and surely catch most of the passes by a wide margin in 2025. Whatever happens behind Raridon feels like a big question mark heading into the season.

OFFENSIVE LINE

We have a honest-to-goodness battle on our hands here! Early on in camp the right guard spot looked like Sullivan Absher’s job to lose and the return of Guerby Lambert from off-season shoulder surgery was merely a nice surprise that would pay dividends down the road. Absher reportedly was banged up recently with a back ailment and heading into the last 2 weeks it’s looking like a 50/50 competition between the two. The other 4 spots along the line look set in Sharpie marker. There’s been no mixing and matching this August.

I tend to favor Lambert here for the right guard job–if he were healthy all year I’m guessing he would’ve already been a starter at this point.

He looks scary, IMO. 

The second unit has been mildly interesting during August. Redshirt freshman Styles Prescod has been steady at left tackle and 5-star freshman Will Black has been battling for the left guard position, maybe even ascending to the backup job for good. Fellow freshman Owen Strebig has also been steady at right tackle and could find a long-term home there.

DEFENSIVE END

There are so many players at defensive end and along the defensive line in general! First up, can we expect Jordan Botelho to see the field in any capacity just 10 weeks following a torn pectoral? Was it the smallest tear in medical history? What is going on right now, how could this be possible? I have him listed at the bottom of the depth chart and ultimately don’t think he’ll dress at Miami. If he plays that would be something incredible.

We seem to be moving into the Boubacar Traore era with a quality backup option from Junior Tuihalamaka. Maybe Loghan Thomas sees the field a little bit, too. If you missed it, for the fall they’ve moved former linebacker Preston Zinter to an edge rusher.

Could he be ready??

Also, Chris Ash has decided to drop the names for each side of the edge and will go with left and right only. Certainly players will mix and match on both sides of the line, for example, Traore and Tuihalamaka lining up on opposite edges. However, I’ll still list them as weak-side and strong-side body types for depth chart sake.

Josh Burnham is the nominal starter and an underrated veteran who should pair well with rising young gun Bryce Young. We’ll probably see plenty of edge rushing from linebackers like Sneed and Ausberry that not many others outside the top 5 on the line get much of a shot in 2025. Although he’s 275 pounds and may get a little bit of interior work, it looks like the coaching staff is keeping the highly recruited Christopher Burgess as an edge rusher.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Some may focus on who gets to start but the group of Hinish, Rubio, Onye, and Dawson are likely rotating and playing close to equal snaps this year. Until someone really proves they need to stay on the field longer I bet this will be the approach this fall. Outside of that, maybe Mukam gets sprinkled in occasionally and a larger refrigerator-sized body like Sevillano is used in short yardage situations.

Deeper down the depth chart maybe we’ll see hints of future development. Can the USC transfer Elijah Hughes make some noise (there hasn’t been much reported on his progress this month)? We’ve heard the staff likes Cole Mullins as he continues to bulk up and now weighs 275 pounds–I feel like he’s been around a long time with the Irish and yet is just a redshirt freshman. Some people really liked Davion Dixon, maybe he’ll surprise and move up the depth chart in a couple months?

LINEBACKER

It’s probably not controversial but the Rover position is going the way of the fullback in this modern defense. It had been trending that way more and more each season under Al Golden (remember how little Jack Kiser played before his final season!?) and it sounds like Chris Ash is accelerating its demise. The Irish might occasionally play 3 linebackers when the rare offense goes super heavy but this isn’t likely to happen nearly enough where the Rover should be its own carved out position like in the past. Maybe the staff and media will still use the Rover term once and a while but it may be time to retire it for good.

Patience is paying off for Sneed.

Expect no drama for the linebackers. Bowen, Sneed, and KVA should rotate liberally while Ausberry remains a big piece to the puzzle, too. It’ll be interesting to see Sneed and Ausberry playing more and more on the inside. Like Kiser before them, they are now being pulled inside and asked to play a much larger and physical role within the defense. It’s a heck of a lot of speed.

It sounds like the future is very bright for Madden Faraimo but he’s not quite at the same elite freshman level as KVA last year. I still think he’s pushing just enough to play in blowouts and may be a regular on special teams, too.

CORNERBACK

Excellence and youth seems to be the headlines for the cornerback position heading into 2025. The starting trio of Leonard Moore, DeVonta Smith, and Christian Gray is locked in. From reports, sophomore Karson Hobbs is currently the backup at nickel but also assumed to be the next man in at cornerback, as well. Does that mean Hobbs is backing up both Moore and Gray?

In a little bit of a surprise, Cree Thomas was enrolled for the spring and that might’ve given him a leg up, but it looks like fellow true freshmen Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery have moved ahead of him into backup roles. Chance Tucker is in his 5th season, hasn’t played meaningful snaps in his career, and it probably stays that way for 2025. Former safety Ben Minich moved down to nickel (he’s still officially listed as a safety on the Notre Dame roster for what its worth) during the spring to add depth but the 2nd string snaps all throughout the corner and nickel spots appear ready to be given to an extremely young group of players. It feels like Hobbs is pretty experienced but he’s a true sophomore who didn’t play that much last year!

SAFETY

Adon Shuler is back as a starter but who will replace All-American star Xavier Watts? This was one of the biggest questions heading into camp and we don’t have major clarity on the situation yet. The hype for redshirt freshman Tae Johnson blew up early in camp but that looks to have subsided as the first game approaches. It would be a ton of trust for Johnson to start at Miami and I think most really didn’t expect that to happen, especially with an experienced transfer coming in this summer.

Pick six last year to starter this year?

Either said transfer Jalen Stroman or Luke Talich are poised to win a starting job although the truth looks closer to is both rotating and looking to be set for co-starter roles. In the early part of the season they’ll probably have that trust with Johnson coming in once and a while, particularly on third and long situations where his reported playmaking ability could be utilized.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Aussie punter James Rendell is back for another campaign after struggling early in 2024 and then improving and finding some consistency on the way to the playoffs. Special teams coach Marty Biagi recently claimed the placekicking competition has not been won between transfer Noah Burnette and true freshman Erik Schmidt. The latter was a late flip from Wisconsin this past cycle so both of these players are relative new names to the Irish fan base. A true freshman beating out a 5th-year former all-ACC kicker would be a pretty big upset if it happens.

Biagi also mentioned that they are prepared to roll with Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price at kick return. He mentioned Price first so I am going to assume he’ll be the primary return man for most games. Plus, Price has some experience handling this role from back in 2023.

The streets won’t forget. 

For punt return a collection of Greathouse, Faison, Aneyas Williams, Pauling, and Golden are all in the running. The latter true freshman would really have to flash something fantastic to win the job out of that group. A true freshman cornerback!? There are some really good options to choose from–plenty of players with excellent short area explosiveness and good hands. There are too many names to list on our sheet! Pauling is an interesting choice, he’s the oldest of the group but has never returned punts in his career.

Tyler Buchner looks set to be the holder on special teams. Redshirt freshman quarterback Anthony Rezac (walk on and older brother of linebacker Teddy Rezac) is in the mix for this job, too.

Last year’s long snapper, Rino Monteforte, transferred to California this off-season. He had 2 more years of eligibility remaining which I found curious why he would be leaving. At any rate, I don’t believe I’ve seen any reports on the long snapper job for 2025. The roster lists redshirt sophomore Andrew Kros and sophomore Joseph Vinci as the only long snappers. Both also played in a lot of games last year, so I think 2024 saw special teams rotating or dividing snapping duties for field goals and punting among the group.

CAPTAINS

Once again, the Irish have to replace all 5 captains from a year ago. In 2024, transfer quarterback Riley Leonard was famously the only offensive captain. That seems likely to change for 2025. The recent Irish Illustrated podcast went over their candidates for the captaincy and basically put center Ashton Craig and running back Jeremiyah Love in the “lock” category for the offense. On defense, linebacker Drayk Bowen (also a true junior like Love) was in the lock category, as well.

Adon Shuler, Aamil Wagner, and Billy Schrauth were also mentioned as candidates for captain. I also think academic senior Josh Burnham is worth a shout, although I’m not certain on his leadership ability he’s had the type of workmanlike career that would suit an upperclassman ready to fill a big role on the field.

Last year, someone mentioned creating the depth chart with player numbers. Ya boy hasn’t forgotten. I’ve removed the colors by eligibility and added in player numbers. There’s a link to a PDF you can print down below to show your friends and learn the roster better without the nameplates on the jerseys.

PDF VERSION CLICK HERE GO IRISH!!!