New Faces, New Stars? Three Freshmen to Keep an Eye on This Fall

Brenden Duffy
Jul 23
2 min read

With fall camp and a new season around the corner, it is time to start thinking about which freshmen will stand out in a fashion similar to the way Leonard Moore and Anthonie Knapp did a year ago. Here are three newcomers, all of whom attended spring practice as early enrollees, to watch for this fall:

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WR Elijah Burress

The first player to keep an eye on comes from the receiver room with 247 Sports four-star Elijah Burress. As the son of former NFL WR Plaxico Burress, Elijah has a built-in pedigree for greatness. Standing at six feet, the freshman weapon hails from DePaul Catholic in New Jersey, where he was teammates with fellow incoming freshman Nolan James Jr. We saw a glimpse of what Burress is capable of in the spring game, when he hauled in two catches for 21 yards, including a touchdown featuring an impressive reach for the pylon. The four-star brings speed and quickness to the Irish WR room, as shown by his State Championship-winning performances in the 100 and 200-meter dashes. On the gridiron, he is ultimately very well-rounded, featuring top-end athleticism and versatility. In his senior season, he snagged 15 receiving touchdowns on 37 receptions for 960 yards. With a strong fall camp, expect Burress to be competing and splitting reps with Jordan Faison, Malachi Fields, Cam Williams, and other outside receivers.

LB Madden Faraimo

Another freshman to watch, and potentially the most sure-fire to make a day one impact, is consensus four-star Madden Faraimo. The linebacker from Southern California ranks as a top-100 recruit according to 247 and Rivals. In just nine games as a senior at JSerra Catholic, Faraimo tallied 113 tackles, over 12.5 per game. He also stood out in the spring game with four tackles in the limited time. At 6-2 and 235 pounds, Faraimo is quick and versatile enough to play any backer position. Barring any wild roster shakeup, it is hard to imagine the freshman defender not seeing the field early in his Irish career.

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CB Cree Thomas

The third newcomer to follow is Rivals' four-star Cree Thomas. In terms of Notre Dame’s DB room this upcoming season, I expect at least one true freshman to break out like Moore did last year. You can take your pick with Thomas, JaDon Blair, Ethan Long, Dallas Golden, and Mark Zackery IV. Thomas comes from Phoenix, where he attended Brophy College Prep, the same school as former Irish star CB Benjamin Morrison. The freshman CB brings good size at 6-1 and a unique versatility, which he displayed throughout high school as a corner, safety, and return specialist. Thomas has the traits and skills to be a solid cover corner from day one, but he is also sneakily impactful coming down against the run. With the amount of fresh blood in the defensive backfield, it will be interesting to see who earns playing time this fall, but I will take my swing with Thomas.