Hurricanes Flood Opponents to Watch List; Top Ten Players Notre Dame Will Play in 2026 (#10-6)
- Brenden Duffy
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
While Notre Dame may have its most star-studded roster in a while, there will be no shortage of talent lining up on the other side of the Irish as we preview the top ten players Notre Dame is set to face during the 2026 regular season.
Photo via SMU Athletics
Last season, I wrote a similar piece, featuring just nine players, and all nine went on to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft, including three first-round picks. This year was much more difficult to cut the list down, in large part due to Miami’s emerging talents and the additions of BYU and SMU to the schedule, but I gave it a try below, starting with numbers ten through six.
10. Cooper Barkate; Miami WR
The first of six Hurricanes to appear on this list is also one of two former Duke stars who transferred to Miami this offseason. Barkate, a 6-1 and 195-pound Redshirt Senior, was a former Notre Dame target as a three-star recruit out of Mater Dei. He would end up committing to Harvard, where he waited until his third year to break out as a star. In 2024, Barkate hauled in 63 receptions for 1,084 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games played. After the Harvard WR earned All-Ivy First Team and FCS All-American Second Team honors following this campaign, he would hit the portal and transfer to Duke for the 2025 season.
Barkate saw his numbers rise last season at Duke, despite the jump in competition. Across 14 games played, he tallied 1,106 yards on 72 receptions for seven touchdowns as the Blue Devils went on to win the ACC Championship. The All-ACC Second Teamer’s best outing came against Georgia Tech, where he finished the game with a season-high 13 catches for 172 yards.
Following his Duke QB, Barkate transferred with Darian Mensah down south this winter. The former Harvard WR boasts polished route running and high IQ, and should be one of the biggest beneficiaries of playing alongside elite WR Malachi Toney and the coverage he demands.
9. Chris Peal; Syracuse CB
Coming in at number nine is a product of his HC, Fran Brown. Peal, a Redshirt Junior, was originally a four-star two-way athlete from Charlotte, NC. The 6-1, 200-pound CB committed to Georgia and, at the time, DB Coach Brown, coming out of high school. Peal appeared in just five games across two seasons with the Bulldogs, opting to enter the transfer portal and reunite with Coach Brown at Syracuse in 2025.
Last season, Peal started all 12 games played and tallied 47 tackles, seven PBUs, and one forced fumble. He was able to come up with five tackles and one PBU during Notre Dame’s 70-7 shellacking of Syracuse. Regardless of the team's success, Peal was and will continue to be a bright spot for the Orange. He is an elite zone CB, possessing a 6-1 frame with a 4.35 40-yard dash. He is a good tackler, accounting for just three misses last fall, and is also solid in run support. The obvious poking point with Peal is his lack of an interception, but I can guarantee that changes in 2026, ideally not at CJ Carr’s expense.
8. Mark Fletcher Jr.; Miami RB
Hurricane number two on this list, and one of two American Heritage High School products, is Miami’s Senior RB. Fletcher, 6-2 and 225 pounds, is a native of Fort Lauderdale, where he was a four-star recruit before committing to Miami out of high school.
The workhorse RB broke onto the scene last season as a Junior, when he rushed for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns on 216 carries across 14 games played as the Hurricanes marched all the way to the CFP Championship Game. Fletcher recorded over 100 rushing yards in six games, including a season-high of 172 at Texas A&M in a CFP matchup. He also set a CFP record as he rushed for 507 total yards during the Canes’s postseason run. While not as much of a receiving threat, he still racked up 140 yards and two scores on 17 receptions last year, including one eight-yard catch against the Irish. Notre Dame did well stuffing Fletcher in last season’s meeting, holding him to just 66 yards on 15 carries, marking the first of five outings in which he did not surpass at least 80 rushing yards. The Irish will need to match this performance in 2026 when the All-ACC Third Team RB comes to South Bend.
7. Evan Johnson; BYU CB
Next is BYU’s ballhawking CB, Evan Johnson. The six-foot, 185-pound Redshirt Senior comes from Monterey, CA, where he was a three-star WR coming out of high school before committing to BYU.
Upon arrival at BYU, Johnson was converted to a CB, and that switch has paid off tremendously. Last season is when the lockdown CB broke out, compiling 47 tackles, 13 passes defended, eight PBUs, five interceptions, including a pick-six, and one sack. Johnson’s five picks tied for the most among Big 12 defenders as the Cougars reached the Conference Championship Game and finished the season with a 12-2 record. His best performance came against East Carolina, when he recorded six tackles, three passes defended, and two interceptions, including his pick-six.
6. PJ Williams; SMU OL
SMU’s offensive line is, in my opinion, the strongest of any other opponent on the Irish’s schedule, even Miami. But the leader of the group is Senior RT PJ Williams. The 6-5, 313-pound OL out of Dickinson, TX, was a four-star Texas A&M commit out of high school. However, after playing in just one game and redshirting his freshman year, Williams entered the portal and transferred to SMU.
Williams has started the past 27 games for the Mustangs, earning 2024 All-ACC Third Team honors and a 2025 All-ACC Second Team nod. Last season, the SMU RT ranked among the top five ACC OL in pressure rate, allowing just two sacks while serving as a team captain. Overall, Williams is an all-around very talented blocker. His matchup with Notre Dame will be interesting, though, as Williams struggled against Miami’s lengthy EDGEs last year, something Notre Dame can offer with Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young.
Stay tuned for the top five talents that Notre Dame will face in 2026.
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