Predicting Notre Dame's 2025 Football Captains
- Liam Farrell
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
As the spring transfer portal window has been officially closed, here is a look at who can wear the "C" on their chest next season for the Fighting Irish.
Last season, Notre Dame's football roster was filled with seniority and experience. From guys like Jack Kiser to Xavier Watts, the Fighting Irish had tremendous support from young talent, but were backed by senior leaders.
The leadership within the locker room was one of the main reasons why Notre Dame was able to mentally recover from the Northern Illinois loss. Yet, as the Fighting Irish pivot to the 2025 season, it is hard pressed to find many seniors that can fill the captaincy role left by Kiser, Watts, Benjamin Morrison, Rylie Mills, and Riley Leonard.
Let's take a look at who three of The Irish Tribune staff predicts to be captains next season.
Liam Farrell: Senior Football Writer
5 Captains:
Drayk Bowen (LB)
Jaden Greathouse (WR)
Jeremiyah Love (RB)
Adon Shuler (S)
Aamil Wagner (RT)
My case for the captains are based on both talent and leadership potential. The best player on the team should normally be a shoe-in to wear the "C" on their chest. Knowing this, Jeremiyah Love is a clear candidate to be the captain. Last season, he showed he's the most explosive running back in the country, and has skyrocketed on NFL experts 2026 mock draft boards. A soft-spoken, lead-by-example type of player, Love might not be the stereotypical choice for the captain position. Yet, he is the experience veteran in Notre Dame's deepest position group, who rushed for 1,125 yards last season, while adding 19 total touchdowns.
Joining Love on the offensive side of the ball are Jaden Greathouse and Aamil Wagner. Greathouse fortified himself as the number one option during last season's playoff run, as he combined for 233 yards receiving and three touchdowns in the semifinal and national championship game. As for Wagner, he was the only player on Notre Dame's offensive line to start every game for the Fighting Irish, which makes him a clear candidate to be a captain.
As for the defense, Adon Shuler and Drayk Bowen are two juniors that had ample playing time last season. Bowen and Shuler were third and fourth in total tackles for the Fighting Irish defense last season. Last season, Bowen recorded had 78 total tackles and forced three fumbles, whereas Shuler tallied 59 total tackles and added three interceptions. While having junior captains might be rare, it occurred last season with Benjamin Morrison, and is more than likely to repeat itself next season with Shuler and Bowen leading Chris Ash's defense.
Liam Gaudet: Senior Editor
4 Captains:
Jaden Greathouse (WR)
Jeremiyah Love (RB)
Christian Gray (CB)
Jordan Botelho (DE)
On either side of the ball, I think you need a healthy mix of players who are important to the team and who bring different leadership qualities to the table.
Offensively, one choice should be clear amongst the rest, and that would be Jeremiyah Love. Love put the entire college football world on notice last season, and the lights would shine the brightest during Notre Dame's run to the CFP National Championship. Love's electrifying play style, whether that be breaking off a 98-yard run in the opening round or muscling through Penn State defenders in the semi-final, gave the Irish a ton of momentum at critical junctures in big games. Love can single-handedly swing momentum on any given carry, and should be looked upon as one of the leaders of the offense next season.
Jaden Greathouse's commitment to the Notre Dame program is something to be admired in the modern era of college football. During the last offseason, the Irish saw a mass exodus of receivers from the program, including both Rico Flores and Braylon James, who were a part of the same recruiting class as Greathouse. Instead of running from an uncertain future, Greathouse continued to put the work in, and the results have been tremendous. Not unlike Love, Greathouse has never been one to shy away from the moment, and cemented himself as a choice for captaincy as a result. With a more polished passer at the helm this season, I expect Greathouse to have an extremely productive season, and lead the offense while doing so.
A similar trend emerges for both of my choices on the defensive side of the ball - adversity. Botelho's Notre Dame career has been marred by injury, but the potential has always been there for the senior edge rusher. Botelho has fought relentlessly to get healthy, and if he can stay that way, I'm certain the production will follow with a more well-rounded supporting cast. Christian Gray has been the subject of some scrutiny, and this will probably be a polarizing pick to some. Despite a lot of noise, Gray's mental toughness is something a lot of folks should admire. I look at the USC game as one of the greatest examples. After being picked on all game, Gray came up with what was the biggest play of Notre Dame's season up to that point, returning an interception the length of the field for a touchdown to ice the game. Of course, you can't mention Gray without bringing up his incredible interception in the Orange Bowl to send the Irish to the National Championship. I think the adversity both of these players have had to face in their Notre Dame careers will help them flourish into resilient leaders, and excellent captains.
Luciano Antonini: Director of Media & Brand
4 Captains:
Jordan Botelho (DE)
Jeremiyah Love (RB)
Gabriel Rubio (DT)
DeVonta Smith (S)
Jordan Botelho is my lock for team captain. Being a veteran, combined with his leadership and hearing from his teammates, there’s no reason Botelho isn’t a team captain in 2025.
Transfer DB DeVonta Smith is one of my two under the radar picks for captaincy. Smith is bringing knowledge, leadership, and expertise from Alabama, and I think he will be the strongest mind in the secondary.
Gabriel Rubio is another under the radar pick for me. I think Rubio will have an increased workload in 2025 with the departure of Rylie Mills to the NFL. His seniority and high praise from teammates are other reasons pointing toward the nod.
Jeremiyah Love is a very likely candidate as well. He’s essentially the face of the program in the eyes of college football fans, and he’s destined to improve upon his magical 2024 season. He will likely be in the running for the Heisman Trophy and I think this is also a no-brainer.
I also will throw in that the winner of the QB battle, CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey, will also likely be a team captain. Having your QB1 as team captain is non-explanatory in my opinion.
Brenden Duffy: Editor/Writer
5 Captains:
Drayk Bowen (LB)
Jaden Greathouse (WR) OR Malachi Fields (WR)
Jeremiyah Love (RB)
Adon Shuler (S)
Aamil Wagner (RT)
A natural next step in Love’s game is to become a leader not just on the field, but in the locker room too. If he wants to be a captain, he is certainly worthy.
Last season, Wagner was a mainstay contributor on an injury-laden OL. He should be an easy pick for captain in my opinion.
Either Fields or Greathouse would be my next choice. Fields was a captain at UVA, so he has the experience. Greathouse is deserving as well given his success (with subpar QB play) over the last 2 years.
Defensively, Bowen is the easy pick as he seems to be a natural leader and obviously a great talent.
Shuler would be the 5th captain and his experiences from last season should provide some natural leadership.
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