Instant Takeaways from Notre Dame's Blue-Gold Game

Liam Farrell
Apr 25
4 min read

The Notre Dame offense was victorious over the defense, 41-40, in the second-most attended Blue-Gold game in program history.

Photo via Notre Dame Football

The 2026 iteration of the Blue-Gold game brought in 45,308 fans, the second-biggest crowd in the game's history to get a glimpse of one of the most anticipated seasons in Notre Dame history.

While there were still reminders of spring ball, from red jerseys to two-hand touch "thud" periods, it was a refreshing sight to see competitive periods inside Notre Dame Stadium.

Here were a few takeaways from the spring game.

Interior Defensive Lineman

The sheer size of the interior of Notre Dame's defensive line is staggering, especially compared to where the unit was a season ago.

The transfer portal additions of Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu will have an instant impact, and the depth of the position with Jason Onye, Armel Mukam, Elijah Hughes, Christopher Burgess Jr. and Sean Sevillano Jr will make life difficult for opposing offensive lines.

The size, speed, and strength were eye-opening today, and if the Irish defense can get a boost from this position group, they can be one of the nation's best all-around defenses.

Secondary Depth

Michigan transfer Jayden Sanders was one of the best players from this scrimmage, as he flashed all game. He filled in for Leonard Moore and got the better of the CJ Carr-Micah Gilbert tandem.

If the Fighting Irish can get excellent play out of Sanders, and add him to a group of Moore, Christian Gray, Adon Shuler, Tae Johnson, and Luke Talich, then the Notre Dame secondary will be among the best in the sport.

It is also worth noting that the Irish will add former All-Big 12 corner DJ McKinney as well.

Young Wide Receivers/Quarterbacks

The spring is the perfect time for the second- and third-string units to get valuable reps within Notre Dame's system.

So far, the buzz has been about the early-enrollee wide receivers making a splash, and that trend continued today. While Bubba Frazier has received the most praise, Devin Fitzgerald isn't too far behind.

Today, Fitzgerald looked the part on the national stage, hauling in three catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.

Throwing to the second- and third-string units were Noah Grubbs and Blake Hebert. On the stat sheet, Hebert was Notre Dame's best performer, edging out both Grubbs and starter CJ Carr.

Hebert finished 7-11, with 103 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. The bulk of Hebert's yards came on a 53-yard completion to Cam Williams, which was an encouraging development from the former five-star prospect.

Hebert also had the best throw of the day, floating a pass to Elijah Burress Jr. in the back of the end zone.

As for Grubbs, the freshman QB finished with 64 yards, and included a touchdown pass to Fitzgerald, but did throw an interception to Ethan Long as well.

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First-Team Offense's Slow Start

It was rough going for the first-team offensive unit to start the Blue-Gold game, which offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said he was "disappointed with how we started."

CJ Carr ended this game 7-15, with zero touchdowns, and an interception, albeit on a dropped pass by TE Ty Washington.

When Carr did have success, he was throwing to Aneyas Williams, Mylan Graham, and Jordan Faison. With Leonard Moore not playing in this game, Carr tried getting Micah Gilbert in the mix but struggled to connect. It wasn't until the "second half" of the game that Carr led the Irish to a touchdown drive that ended with a Williams rushing touchdown.

While it isn't an instant worry, to see Carr struggle after hearing reports of his dominance behind closed doors is a bit jarring. However, head coach Marcus Freeman knows what he has in his returning starting QB.

Kicking

To put a bow on this year's game, Marcus Freeman set the scene with the offense trailing by two points to have Spencer Porath kick a game-winning field goal, which the Purdue transfer nailed from 43 yards out.

To see some sort of consistency in the kicking game from where the Irish were a season ago is an extremely calming feeling and was the perfect way to wrap up the televised event.

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