With Notre Dame football players back on campus and camp slated to begin tomorrow, we preview what fans can keep an eye on as we approach week one. Photo via Notre Dame Athletics QB Competition Without a doubt, the most important and followed position battle will be at Quarterback as redshirt freshman CJ Carr and redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey prepare for an intense fight.  Entering fall camp, Marcus Freeman has declared this an open competition, and fans are excited to find out who will be leading the charge for, potentially, years to come. In the Gold vs. Blue game, Carr impressed as he threw 14/19 for 170 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. The more athletic Minchey had a quieter yet still solid performance as he threw 6/14 for 106 yards and was able to find the endzone via a short-yardage scramble.  There is a chance we see both signal-callers during the year, with special packages designed for whoever ends up as the backup. However, the importance of having a legit QB1 can not be understated in today’s game, especially if you want to compete for a CFP Championship. This competition will be watched nationally, so whoever can handle this pressure best could likely end up as the starting quarterback for Notre Dame. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! Who Fills in for Jagusah? With Charles Jagusah set to miss the beginning of the season due to surgery following a UTV accident where he fractured his humerus, a big question has become who will start at RG? Luckily for Notre Dame, the offensive line room is among the deepest in the country, meaning there are countless valid solutions to this question. One of these options includes promoting someone like Sullivan Absher, Guerby Lambert, or Joe Otting. Absher, a redshirt sophomore, took snaps at each tackle and guard position last year, but performed better when on the inside, making him a good candidate to replace Jagusah. Lambert and Otting are also young and talented, but the switch to guard could feel unnatural for this tackle and center pair. Moving either of these two will cause a major chain of change on the depth chart, for better or worse is to be determined. Otting fits the bill of a true guard better than Lambert, but Lambert’s talent could outweigh this situation. The more intriguing but less likely scenario would involve starting true freshman Will Black at left tackle, forcing Anthonie Knapp to start inside. One year after starting most of the year at left tackle, would the staff want to push this change upon Knapp?  The Irish offensive line will face, arguably, two of their biggest tests this season when they open the year with Miami and Texas A&M. Without Jagusah, how the offensive line fares in these matchups will be held under a microscope.   Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your Notre Dame Pickleball Paddle Here What Will the Defense Look Like? One staple of Notre Dame Football, and especially with Coach Freeman, is stout defense. This will be a season of big change, and it begins at the coordinator position. Following Al Golden’s departure to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Irish hired former Rutgers Head Coach, and most recently a scout with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chris Ash. Despite what felt like an underwhelming hire at the time, Ash does have the previous experience to warrant some trust from the public now that some time has passed. We will see if Ash can keep this defense at the elite level Golden had established, but it will be tricky with the roster turnover. What does a Notre Dame defense without Xavier Watts, Benjamin Morrison, Jack Kiser, Howard Cross, or Rylie Mills even look like? These former Irish stars have paved the way for the next group to continue a heritage of domination. Who will step up this season? We already know what to expect from the highly skilled duo of Leonard Moore and Drayk Bowen. The more intriguing storyline to watch will be who takes that next step and joins Moore and Bowen as true leaders this season among the returning talent, such as Adon Shuler, Christian Gray, Jaiden Ausberry, Boubacar Traore, etc. Additionally, multiple transfers and true freshmen are set to see playing time this year. How these new pieces will fit into Ash's defense will begin to be determined at camp. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

Notre Dame Stadium is the heartbeat of the Fighting Irish football program, but its towering façade and more than 77,000 seats stand as a monument to more than football. It tells—brick by brick—how a small Catholic school in the Midwest climbed to the sport’s highest tier. Photo Via The University of Notre Dame Athletics The story starts on a makeshift field in the middle of campus, where students leaned from windows to watch a new game take root; from that patch of grass to the wooden bowl of Cartier Field, and finally to the house Rockne built, the path is the proof—humble beginnings, big vision, and Saturdays that still feel personal even when the stakes are national. 1887–1899 — A Game Without a House The first scene wasn’t a stadium. It was a campus lawn within sight of the Golden Dome, a rectangle scratched into the grass with chalk dust and a rope for a sideline, wedged near the Main Building and Brownson Hall—nineteenth‑century classrooms on one side and walkways on the other. Students leaned from open windows while priests and professors crossed the path between buildings, slowing when the sound of the hitting grew louder. The crowd stood three deep where the rope bowed, and “announcements” were just someone with a strong voice asking people to step back so the ball could be snapped again. That first official game, in November 1887, turned out to be more tutorial than triumph. Michigan arrived with the confidence of a program that already knew what it was doing and handed out a lesson that stung. The sting helped. The Irish learned how to line up, how to wedge and pull, and how to chase leverage into cold air and late‑afternoon light; the campus learned something just as important—where to gather, how sound carried over open ground, and why the same patch of grass kept drawing people back when whistles blew. There was nothing glamorous about the setup. Goalposts could be shifted to make room for baseball. Track lanes cut across the same turf. Equipment was scarce and taped together. Yet ritual started anyway. Lines were repainted for the next home date, the same faces returned to the same strip of rope, and the same windows filled with onlookers when drills began. It wasn’t a stadium yet, but on the right afternoon, it felt like one. By the end of the 1890s, the scale was wrong for what the program had become. Crowds pressed the edges, and the noise wanted walls to bounce off. Visiting squads stepped off the train and found a team that no longer treated the sport as an experiment. Everyone felt the next step. A borrowed lawn wasn’t enough. The University and its alumni converged on the same conclusion: build something of our own, something that belonged to football and still served the rest of athletics, something that turned a Saturday from an interruption into an event. 1900–1928 — Cartier Field and a Program Growing Into Itself Cartier Field opened on May 11, 1900, and changed Saturdays on campus because it put a fence, seats, and a cinder track around what had been a borrowed lawn, giving the sport a real address and giving the sound a wall to circle and return. The place carried the name of Warren A. Cartier (Class of 1887), whose financial support turned sketches into grandstands and made the project feel like a shared bet on the future. A track ringed the rectangle. The stands rose in stages. On clear afternoons, the wooden bowl held the noise, and the game finally sounded like it had a home. The program grew into its new digs. Early in the new century, it was still a regional attraction; by the 1910s, it was a big draw with a growing reputation. Jesse Harper’s teams sharpened the edge and toughened the schedule before Knute Rockne took over in 1918, and the building quickly began to feel too small for the way he thought about Saturdays. The home record read like proof that the place mattered: 40 straight home wins from 1907 to 1918, then 38 more from 1919 to 1927. Streaks like that turn belief into expectation. They also made visiting teams cautious before the coin toss. Capacity kept climbing. A few thousand seats gave way to the teens, then the twenties. By the mid‑1920s, crowds near 30,000 were routine when the opponent warranted it. Baseball still lived there. Track still claimed the oval during the week. The facility looked like a snapshot of American college athletics at the time, multi‑purpose and constantly in use. On Saturdays, it transformed into a single‑purpose house. But even in its best form, Cartier was wood and nails. The boards creaked when a full house leaned forward. Sightlines pinched in certain sections, and the ribs could flex, but those old bones couldn’t carry the future forever. As the decade wound down, everyone felt it. The program had outgrown its first true home, and the next stadium had to be more than a bigger version of the old one; it had to be better. 1929 — A Season Between Homes Tearing down the old to build the new meant spending a year without a campus stadium. In 1929, Notre Dame moved its “home” dates to big‑city stages—chief among them Soldier Field in Chicago—and did not blink. The team went 9–0 with a national championship to cap things off. The road didn’t water down the brand; it proved the point that the audience existed, wherever the Irish played. Those Chicago gates told the University something the wooden bleachers already knew: demand had grown well beyond a local fan base. Back in South Bend, design meetings shifted from what‑if to how fast. Osborn Engineering—already a national name in stadium work—took the job. Rockne stayed in the details, not just the concept. He wanted the bowl drawn tight to the field so the game felt close. He wanted the rake steep enough for the field to reveal itself in one clean breath when you walked in from the concourse. He wanted enough capacity to match demand, but not so much distance that the building lost its voice. The budget settled around $750,000. The target capacity sat just north of 54,000, and the timeline for completion was aggressive on purpose. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! 1930 — The House That Rockne Built The gates swung open on October 4, 1930, and the Irish walked away with a 20–14 win over SMU. It felt like a reveal and a release after a year, everywhere and nowhere at once. One week later, on October 11, the stadium was formally dedicated before the Navy game, with Frank Hering speaking and a crowd that finally had the seats and sightlines it had been asking for. Rockne’s house looked finished. The difference from the first step inside was striking. Concrete and brick made a promise that wood could not. The bowl sat close to the field, drawing attention to where the ball would be, not where a banner might hang. A proper press box gave the silhouette a serious, civic profile, and the corridors moved a crowd without turning exits into bottlenecks. The sound didn’t leak—it returned to the field with a familiar but amplified weight. Rockne coached just one season in Notre Dame Stadium. His tragic death in March 1931 put a hard edge on the story, but his fingerprints were fixed into its foundations. The stadium wasn’t ornate; it was purpose‑built. It told the crowd where to look and the players what to expect. Those choices aged well. 1930s–1950s — A National Gathering Place Once the concrete cured, the building went to work. The 1930s brought clean, confident home Saturdays and schedules that read like a heavyweight roll call. The stadium felt bigger without feeling distant, and that is a trick even seasoned fans noticed without needing to put it into words. The rise continued through the 1940s and into the 1950s. From November 1942 through October 1950, Notre Dame won twenty‑eight straight at home. That wasn’t a quirk; it was a testament to the program and to a home field that fit its ambitions. Television added a new layer of attention. On November 8, 1952, the Irish beat Oklahoma 27–21 in the first game televised from Notre Dame Stadium. If you grew up in the shadow of the Dome, a camera didn’t have to teach you what the place looked like at four in the afternoon in November. If you didn’t, now you saw the reveal from concourse to field, the northward glance beyond the end zone, and the way light slid across turf as the day leaned toward evening. Later, a pre‑expansion record crowd of 60,128 watched Oklahoma again in 1956 and proved with a number what the eye and the ear already knew. Demand had outpaced the shell. Culture kept pace with architecture. Families built fall weekends around the home slate. The climb to particular sections became muscle memory. Ask someone where they sat as a student, and they would give you a row and a seat without hesitation. That’s what happens when the building, the fans, and the program grow in the same direction for decades. 1964–1980s — The North Wall, Sellouts, and Ritual In 1964, the Hesburgh Library opened, and the “Word of Life” mosaic rose on its north face. It was not part of the stadium, but it quickly became part of its identity. Stand in the bowl and look north, and the relationship announced itself without words: the stadium pointed your attention toward something larger than the scoreboard and the clock—what fans soon called “Touchdown Jesus.” Sellouts became standard operating procedure in this era. With rare exceptions, a full house served as the default, and the atmosphere changed because of it. Noise sat heavier. The cadence from pregame to alma mater turned smooth because the crowd had practiced it together for years. Rituals took their places. In 1986, Lou Holtz mounted a simple sign above the tunnel—“Play Like A Champion Today”—and what could have been a gimmick became a sentence the program carried like a promise. Between the third and fourth quarters, Sgt. Tim McCarthy’s safety message worked as a homespun punctuation mark that regulars recognized from the first word. None of these touches made a block at the goal line. All of them changed how the place felt when the block happened. There were previews of night games before they became routine. In 1982, a season opener against Michigan under temporary lights showed how the brick glowed warmer and the uniforms popped when lamps took over the sky. The building could handle the evening. It would take time to make the look permanent. 1994–1997 — Raising the Rim and Turning on the Lights By the middle of the 1990s, the stadium had plainly outgrown its original bones. The answer was a renovation that respected the face and changed almost everything else. An upper deck went up. Press and broadcast space expanded. Concourse flow improved. Capacity climbed to 80,795. Permanent lights were installed so night would stop being a rented gimmick and start being part of the building’s vocabulary. The reopening on September 6, 1997, felt like a ribbon cutting layered over a familiar script. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 17–13. The silhouette became what many fans still picture first—stacked decks, squared corners, and a cornice that looked like it had been there all along. The stadium did not change its identity; it learned how to do the same job on a larger scale. Television deals added choreography to Saturdays. Media timeouts stretched. Camera shots found favorites. The trade‑off made sense. The stadium learned how to serve the audience in the seats without turning its back on the one beyond the lens. That balance would matter when night finally settled in for good. Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your Notre Dame Pickleball Paddle Here 2011 — Night Became Part of the Identity True primetime took time to settle in, even with permanent lights in place. The watershed was October 22, 2011, against USC. The scoreboard did not cooperate that night. The look did. Under lights, the bowl felt formal without feeling stiff. The uniforms jumped. The air tightened the sound. Once you saw it live, you understood why the schedule kept chasing it. 2014 — FieldTurf and a Practical Pivot In 2014, Notre Dame replaced natural grass with FieldTurf. It was a practical move, not a poetic one. Northern Indiana in November did not always reward ideal footing, and the stadium had taken on more than seven football dates. The new surface handled weather and workload, and the Saturday presentation stayed clean. Design details kept the field looking like Notre Dame’s, not a generic rental. Tradition survived the change because tradition is bigger than what the blades are made of. 2014–2017 — Campus Crossroads and a Stadium That Worked All Week The larger shift was architectural. The Campus Crossroads project, announced in 2014 and opened in stages through 2017, stitched three major buildings onto the stadium’s shell and turned a seven‑Saturday venue into a year‑round meeting place. Duncan Student Center rose to the west with recreation, dining, and event space. Corbett Family Hall was built to the east, incorporating academic departments, media facilities, and Notre Dame Studios into its footprint. O’Neill Hall anchored the south with music and sacred music programs and hospitality, layered toward the field. Game day modernized in step. A new South video board arrived. Ribbon boards added context without stealing the show. Audio and lighting upgraded to match. Seats were reworked for comfort and access, which is how official capacity settled at 77,622 rather than chasing a round number for its own sake. The rebuilt bowl made its first statement on September 2, 2017, with a 49–16 win over Temple. The concourses and staircases felt like they had always been meant to look this way. The stadium still read as Notre Dame, just with better tools. Crossroads changed Tuesdays as much as Saturdays. On a weekday afternoon, you could see the student center humming through west‑side windows, a camera cart rolling toward a studio on the east, a recital warming up to the south, and football meeting rooms doing the work they always did, all inside one connected footprint. The stadium stopped being an island and became a hinge for campus life. 2018–2025 — A Bigger Stage, Same Center of Gravity Once the infrastructure existed, the bookings followed. Garth Brooks became the first concert in stadium history on October 20, 2018. The NHL Winter Classic dropped the puck on January 1, 2019. Billy Joel played in 2022. European clubs brought a summer friendly in 2024. The venue proved it could host different audiences without sacrificing its identity. Monday through Friday stayed real while Saturday stayed sacred. The tech backbone kept pace. By fall 2024, the bowl was running a Wi‑Fi 6E deployment at stadium scale, so fans weren’t fighting their phones to check a replay or send a photo to a family thread. It wasn’t romantic, but it mattered. A historic venue still had to meet modern expectations if it wanted to keep the room full. Winter delivered the headline. On December 20, 2024, Notre Dame hosted Indiana in the first on‑campus College Football Playoff game. It was cold enough to see breath. It was bright enough to look like the moment had been designed for television. The score was 27–17, and the memory was how right the building felt doing something new. South Bend handled the postseason in its own way without pretending to be a different place for a night. What Endured Through every change, a few choices kept the place Notre Dame. The field stayed clean. The north view kept the library wall in the frame, and when the video board arrived it lived in the south so that sightline never went away. The bowl did the rest. Portals opened to a full reveal in a single step, and the rake pulled your eye to the snap instead of the concourse; you didn’t need an architecture degree to feel that the building was drawn by people who cared about how a Saturday should work from the first breath in to the last walk out. Seats were widened when comfort and access demanded it—even if that meant a smaller number in the media guide—because the point was never raw capacity so much as keeping the game close. There was backbone in the big calls. In 1929, the program lived out of a suitcase so a proper house could rise, and that sacrifice paid off for generations. In the mid‑1990s, the upper deck and permanent lights changed the silhouette and the scale, yet the stadium still read as itself the instant you stepped inside. Crossroads in 2017 stitched classrooms, studios, and student life into the shell without turning the bowl into a theme park, and the on‑campus Playoff night in 2024 proved the old geometry could handle a new stage. That mix—protect the sightlines, keep the field honest, draw the room tight, modernize what helps, and ignore what doesn’t—kept the venue from sliding into museum mode. It stayed old without acting old. It stayed updated without pretending to be somewhere else. And on any Saturday, the building asked for the same simple things: watch the ball, sing with the band, make enough noise to matter. Looking Ahead The future doesn’t need fireworks as long as the compass stays true. Comfort should keep winning out over raw seat count when those two pull in opposite directions. Lines at gates and concessions ought to move faster. Cold nights should feel a little kinder as winterization improves. The network under the seats should keep getting stronger so fans can watch a replay and send a photo without fighting their phones. There may be another honest talk about the surface—grass or modern turf—held with clear eyes about weather, scheduling, and player feedback. That’s enough. The big calls have already been made. Some things aren’t up for debate. Keep the field clean. Keep the north sightline to the library mosaic. Keep the tunnel simple and the message over it simpler. Keep the sound where it belongs—band, student section, crowd—and let brick and bowl do the rest. A great stadium frames the art; it doesn’t try to be the art. Hold that line, and everything else falls into place. Recruits feel the stage and picture themselves in it. Alumni recognize the details that match their memories. First‑timers understand quickly why the address matters. And from Monday through Friday, the place can hum with campus life without ever losing its Saturday voice. A Stadium Made of Saturdays A century after that chalked rectangle by Brownson Hall, the same lessons still governed the place: small beginnings weren’t a handicap if the proportions were right; closeness to the field mattered more than chasing a headline capacity; the afternoon had to feel personal even when the stakes were national; the crowd’s voice functioned as part of the team; and the traditions that lasted were the plain ones you could remember without thinking. None of that required ornament—it required consistency and a building drawn to serve the game first. Trace the routine across years rather than hours, and the pattern held. People arrived early, found their sections without hunting for signs, and stepped through a portal to see the field reveal itself in one shot; they had seen that view dozens of times, and it still landed because the geometry made it land. When games turned on third‑and‑short stuffed at the line, a seam route hit in stride, a late takeaway that flipped the noise, the stadium’s choices made sense: draw the bowl tight, keep the sightlines honest, let the sound return to the field instead of drifting away. This was more than just the site of home games; it was a statement about what the program valued. From chalk and rope to timber and track to concrete, brick, and modern light, the line stayed straight and the promise from 1930 held up—big enough to matter beyond South Bend, close enough to feel like it belonged to the people inside it. The updates of later decades—more seats, better lights, a campus stitched to the concourse—didn’t change that center; they made it easier to keep. In the end, that’s why the stadium worked and kept working. It organized thousands into a single purpose, sent them out with the score in their heads and the song in their throats, and gave them a reason to come back the next time the schedule said home. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

Notre Dame will face off against Wake Forest at Bank of America Stadium in 2027. Photo by The Irish Tribune Per a press release from Notre Dame, the two teams will play a neutral-site game at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, home of the Carolina Panthers. The game is scheduled for Saturday, October 9, 2027. This will be the first time in the series that the two teams will play a neutral-site matchup. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! “We are excited for another chance to play in an NFL stadium and against the Demon Deacons. The opportunity to showcase our two great institutions and football programs, while affording our football program and student-athletes an exciting and unique experience in the great city of Charlotte, is one we can’t wait to be a part of,” said Ron Powlus, Notre Dame Deputy Athletics Director for Football. The Irish are 6-0 all-time against the Demon Deacons. Here's a full series history: 2011 - Notre Dame 24, Wake Forest 17 (At Wake Forest) 2012 - Notre Dame 38, Wake Forest 0 (At Notre Dame) 2015 - Notre Dame 28, Wake Forest 7 (At Notre Dame) 2017 - Notre Dame 48, Wake Forest 37 (At Notre Dame) 2018 - Notre Dame 56, Wake Forest 27 (At Wake Forest) 2023 - Notre Dame 45, Wake Forest 7 (At Notre Dame) What are your thoughts on the matchup? Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

There is little doubt that Notre Dame's running back room is stacked this season. Jeremiyah Love headlines this room as one of the best players in the country, but this room also boasts impressive depth. Photo by The Irish Tribune Last season, it was the Notre Dame running game that carried the offense throughout the season. Looking back, the most iconic and memorable moments of the 2024 season were running plays. Whether it was Jadarian Price's and Love's runs against Texas A&M, Love's hurdles against Army and USC, Love's 98-yard run against Indiana, or Love's heroic run against Penn State. There are plenty of others, but the Irish run game was not only productive, it was emphatic. This was mostly due to Love's breakout season. Although many Notre Dame fans had high hopes for Love, the success they saw in 2024 was still a surprise. Love made it clear, out of the gates, that he was going to be one of the most talented and entertaining players to watch. He broke the Notre Dame record for touchdowns in consecutive games, he ran for well over 1,000 yards, and was responsible for most of Notre Dame's big plays. The success of the running game is not only due to Love, however. Price was also a key piece to the run game. Price was about as good a backup as a team could ask for. With a bigger frame, Price was the sort of thunder to Love's lightning. With that being said, Price was still very capable of breaking one loose on any given play. Lastly, Aneyas Williams was one of the biggest surprises of the 2024 season. With limited snaps, Williams was huge on third downs, working as an excellent pass blocker and receiving back. He constantly made key blocks and third-down conversions throughout the second half of the season. Looking into 2025, the dynamics that drove one of the best running games in the country will likely be the same this upcoming season. All things will start with Love. He has been deemed the best running back in the country by most of the country's football pundits and even a top-10 draft pick. Love does have some Heisman hype coming into this season, but with all of that hype comes attention and expectations. Opposing defenses will be geared up to slow him down, making it difficult to have the type of year he had last year. The attention he does garner, however, will make it easier for Notre Dame's young quarterback to find open wide receivers. Much like last year, Price will be serving as the backup to Love, but in Notre Dame's offense, it is not much of a backup role. Notre Dame's offense is focused on the run, meaning that there are a lot of carries to go around. Although second string, Price will get more than enough carries to impact the game as a great downhill runner while also giving Love the rest he needs to stay fresh throughout games and the season. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! Williams will also most likely be performing a similar role to last year. Now, a year older, Williams may see even more responsibility than he did last year. Williams is maybe Notre Dame's best third-down back, and that was as a freshman. He showed he is more than willing to throw himself into blocks in passing plays, while possessing reliable hands out of the backfield. While Love and Price are solid blockers, having a player like Williams that willing to block not only helps the passing game, but it also keeps Love from taking unnecessary hits. Williams is still seen as a depth piece, but his future with the Irish looks bright for years to come. Speaking of depth and bright futures, Notre Dame's running back room has multiple talented options waiting for their time to make an impact on the field. To start with, the oldest, Gi'Bran Payne, is back this year after suffering a season-ending knee injury before the 2024 season. While Payne may get touches at running back if there are injuries or a blowout, his biggest impact may be in special teams. Kedren Young is an upcoming player for the Irish who showed a lot of potential in the spring game. Young is the biggest back in the room, weighing in at 242 lbs. That frame gives him impressive power to break tackles to gain extra yards. With that power, Young also displayed his good footwork for someone of his size. He is someone to look out for in the upcoming years. Freshman Nolan James Jr. also showed out in the spring game. Opposite to Young, James is a fast and elusive runner who showed a real knack in the passing game. The running back position is possibly the most important position to have depth in. The grueling nature of the position lends itself to more injuries and a need for rest. Love is an awesome player, but for him to be at his best, he needs solid backs behind him to lighten the load. If injuries occur, Notre Dame does have the luxury of other talented options to step in. To add to this, this talented and deep group is also being coached by one of the best running back coaches in the country, Ja'Juan Seider. Former coach Deland McCullough did a great job developing these players into what they are, and now, Seider will try to take them to the next level. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

As fall camp creeps around the corner, it is a perfect time for Notre Dame fans to begin to comprehend the path that lies ahead of them in 2025. Art by The Irish Tribune In the second installment of the season preview, Notre Dame is entering the fourth game of the year after likely playing two Top 25 teams in the first three weeks. As the Irish attempt to navigate through the beginning of the year that features a game on the road at Miami and two home games in South Bend against Texas A&M and Purdue; the Irish don't have much more room for error. Unfortunately for Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the 2025 slate appears much more daunting than the year prior. In this volume of The Anatomy of the Schedule, Irish fans will see the uphill climb the Golden Domers will face in 2025. Week Five @ Arkansas 2024 Record: 7-6 No. of Returning Offensive Starters: Four No. of Returning Defensive Starters: Four A road game at any SEC school is a difficult game. Last season, the Irish narrowly escaped the season-opener against Texas A&M a year ago in a game that was played in front of 107,315 fans. This road game against Arkansas, which will be a noon ABC kickoff, should be a difficult test for the Irish just because of the environment. While the noon kickoff certainly helps quiet a raucous crowd, this should still be a crazy environment at kickoff. The Razorbacks are led by Taylen Green, the Boise State transfer from two seasons ago, who is entering his second season as the starting quarterback for Arkansas. Green is best while being dynamic in the run-game as the dual threat quarterback tallied 602 yards on the ground last season. While Green can be dynamic, he does have a knack for turning over the ball, as he recorded 24 interceptions during his three years of college football. If the Irish can rattle Green and force the experienced quarterback to make mistakes, then Notre Dame will be in a good position. Another interesting factor in this game should be the Arkansas defensive line battling against Notre Dame's offensive line. In a strength-on-strength matchup, the Irish will have to establish a running game to open up the passing attack against the Razorbacks. If Notre Dame gets Arkansas on its heels, the Irish can capitalize against a defense that finished 115th in opponent passing yards per game in 2024. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! Week Six vs Boise State 2024 Record: 12-2 No. of Returning Offensive Starters: Seven No. of Returning Defensive Starters: Eight It is peculiar that Notre Dame's sole regular season game against a team who, not only made the College Football Playoff, but got a first-round BYE last season, is being so overlooked. And it truly is because of the sheer unbelievable season that Ashton Jeanty had last year. The Broncos will very likely roll into South Bend undefeated as they open their season against the likes of USF, Eastern Washington, Air Force, and App State. Outside the massive hole left by Jeanty's departure to the NFL, the Broncos return a lot of key figures from their CFP run from last year, including starting quarterback Maddux Madsen. Last season, Madsen threw for 3,018 yards, recorded 23 touchdowns, and only threw six interceptions. He also returns two of the top three leading receivers in TE Matt Lauter and WR Latrell Caples. On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos are returning tons of production from the playoff team, including Ty Benefield who led Boise State in tackles and interceptions last year. Former Notre Dame cornerback Jaden Mickey will also make a return to South Bend after transferring to Boise State in February. Week Seven vs NC State 2024 Record: 6-7 No. of Returning Offensive Starters: Six No. of Returning Defensive Starters: Four This is a game that can be deemed the biggest trap game for the Fighting Irish because of where it lands on the schedule and the talent on NC State's roster. Being sandwiched between Boise State and USC, NC State struts into South Bend with a returning quarterback-running back tandem that is one of the most underrated in the country. After the Wolfpack turned the keys over to CJ Bailey last year, he had a pretty good freshman season for Dave Doeren. NC State only went 3-5 in the ACC, but Bailey led them to a bowl game berth and put up solid numbers. He finished the year with 2,413 passing yards and 17 touchdowns. However, as expected for a young quarterback, Bailey troubled with turnovers as he threw 10 picks last season. In the backfield, the Wolfpack return leading rusher Hollywood Smothers, who had six touchdowns last season and rushed for 571 yards after being the featured back late in the season. NC State also returns former Ohio State Buckeye Noah Rogers to anchor their receiving core. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

The recruiting wheels keep turning in South Bend, and this time Notre Dame has nabbed a player at the most important position in football. Composite 4-Star QB Teddy Jarrard, a top 15 QB in the class of 2027 has landed with the Fighting Irish as an early commit, making him the third player to join the Blue and Gold from the 2027 cycle. Art by The Irish Tribune Jarrard, who plays at North Cobb High School, was voted Cobb 1st Team and Offensive Player of the Year for his efforts as a Sophomore, throwing for 31 touchdowns and an outstanding 72% completion percentage. His film screams high ceiling player, and he could end up being the cornerstone of a class that Notre Dame hopes will be every bit as talented as their 2026 class has shaped up to be. It's time to break down the tape, and as always, each trait will be graded on a scale of 1 (Poor) to 7 (Elite). Let's get into it! Mental Processing: Elite (7) Quarterback is a high football IQ position, and Jarrard certainly has the smarts and instincts you want from your signal caller. His post snap processing time is faster than most high school QBs, and he does a good job of differentiating between Man and Zone Coverage quickly. He throws with excellent anticipation, getting the ball to where he knows the WR will be before he even makes his break, and knows how to find the void in the middle of the field when defenders drop in Zone. Can work through multiple progressions, and understands when to take his checkdown. As his physical development catches up to his mental, Jarrard will become a very dangerous QB. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! Accuracy: Very Good (6) Jarrard's ball placement on out-breaking patterns is top tier, putting it on the correct shoulder, giving the WR a chance to turn upfield and pick up additional yardage. He has very good placement on back shoulder throws as well, making it hard for the defensive back to make any type of play on the ball. He does a good job throwing on the move, especially rolling to his right, maintaining his accuracy even when he leaves the pocket. He can make throws at all three levels, and generally keeps the ball out of harm's way as evidenced by the fact he only threw five interceptions on almost 300 pass attempts, six fewer than he threw during his Freshman season. Arm Strength: Good (5 ) Arm strength is very much a developmental trait, so how it looks as a Sophomore will generally never be how it looks as a Senior, but for now, it is an area of improvement for Jarrard. Although he possesses good arm strength, as I have seen him throw from the numbers back across the field on a deep pass with fairly good accuracy, there are instances where he will leaves passes a little underthrown making a more difficult catch attempt for the WR than you would like to see. He has good velocity on his throws and is not scared to try to fit in tight windows, and would benefit from sometimes driving the ball and focusing less on touch. His lower half mechanics are solid, which will aid in pushing the ball further downfield the more his arm develops, as right now it seems his maximum throwing distance tops out somewhere around 40 yards. Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your Notre Dame Pickleball Paddle Here Competitive Toughness: Good (5) Competitive toughness does not just represent physical traits, but mental ones as well. Yes, Jarrard has some good mobility to his game, and he is smart about how he uses it, not allowing himself to take any unnecessary hits, either getting out of bounds or sliding, but his toughness to me shows more so in how he operates as a thrower. There is no hesitation to push the ball downfield and give his WRs a chance to make a play one-on-one, and he is consistent in his aggressiveness passing the football. He keeps his eyes downfield when he breaks the pocket and will still look to make a play even with pressure bearing down on him. Most of all, he can deliver in clutch moments, like throwing the game-winning touchdown in a 6-OT game during his Sophomore campaign. I think Jarrard is just as mentally tough as he is physically, and with the QB position being such a high-stakes role on and off the field, that will serve him well at the next level. There is a long way to go before the 2027 class takes its final shape, but Notre Dame is already well on the path of making sure it's chalk-full of game-changing talent. Landing a signal caller of Teddy Jarrard's caliber this early in the process is a great sign for things to come, and could serve as a beacon for other players searching for their future homes, knowing that Notre Dame will have the most important position on the field well stocked and ready to roll. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

Notre Dame's run on elite talent has extended into the class of 2027, as 4-star QB Teddy Jarrard has announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish. Jarrard is a 6’3", 190lbs QB out of North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia. He is ranked by 247Sports Composite as the No. 194 overall recruit nationally, and the No. 15 QB in the Nation. Art by The Irish Tribune Jarrard led North Cobb High School to an 11-1 record during his sophomore campaign, passing for over 2,600 yards to go alongside 31 passing touchdowns to just five interceptions. Jarrard has seen his recruiting stock surge after dominating in camps, along with the massive leap in production he enjoyed this season. As it stands, Jarrard has a decent chance to finish the cycle as a 5-star prospect if he continues to elevate his play both at camps and during the season. Marcus Freeman and Gino Guidugli continue to put in work early in the cycle, establishing relationships which have allowed the Irish to secure early commitments from the majority of QB targets in Freeman's tenure. It's starting to become clear that Notre Dame will no longer just be a hat on the table for the nation's elite. He joins 3-star LB Ellis McGaskin out of Williamson High School in Mobile, Alabama, and Top Long Snapper Sean Kraft out of Asheville Christian Academy in Swannanoa, North Carolina, as the current commits for Notre Dame in the class of 2027. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today!   Before committing to the Irish today, Jarrard held 33 D1 Offers from such notable schools as Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, and Notre Dame, among others. The class of 2027 is off to an incredible start, and with a top signal caller now in the fold, expect the Irish to start attracting more attention from top recruits next cycle. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

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:  Art by The Irish Tribune 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. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! 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. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

When Chad Bowden left to become General Manager of Notre Dame's most bitter rival, USC, there was a question of how that move would affect recruiting efforts in the future for the Irish. Head Coach Marcus Freeman and the rest of his staff have answered that question emphatically, as it's not just business as usual on the recruiting trail - business is booming. Photo by The Irish Tribune Landing elite-level talent such as 5-Star players Joey O'Brien and Rodney Dunham, top-5 Cornerback Khary Adams, top-5 Tight End Ian Premer, a pair of top-15 Running Backs in Javian Osborne and Jonaz Walton, amongst many others, has given Notre Dame a top-5 class nationally, and frankly, one of their best ever. The next part of the equation will be hanging on to all of the commitments through National Signing Day in February of 2026, but for now, Notre Dame is trending way up in the world of recruiting, which should continue to manifest itself on the field. With that being said, no program lands every player they want, and there will always be positions that could use more star power or more depth. Today, we will look at a few areas Notre Dame might look to continue to bolster to further elevate what has already been a jarring success on the recruiting trail. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! Interior Defensive Line With a commitment date set for August 9th for high-end 4-Star DL Elijah Golden, this position may get an answer sooner rather than later if Notre Dame can reel him in. The 6'4", 275-pound Florida native would be a perfect complement to a class that already boasts a pair of elite edge players in Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade. Golden, who has been used from multiple alignments in high school, projects as a potential pass-rushing 3-tech Defensive Tackle, where he can pair his excellent upfield burst and strength to create havoc from the interior. 3-Star DL Tiki Hola, who has a chance to be an elite run stopper at the next level, is currently the only Defensive Tackle in the 2026 class for Notre Dame. It is one of the few areas Notre Dame has not had top-end success recruiting the last couple of years, but that could change in an instant depending on what happens the rest of the cycle. Linebacker When Notre Dame takes the field during Labor Day weekend, they figure to roll out one of the best Linebacker corps in the country. That corps was built on the back of recruiting, even in today's transfer portal happy world. Jaylen Sneed was a 2022 commit, Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry were a part of the 2023 class, and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa came in a year after in 2024. As of now, the class of 2026 has two linebackers committed, Thomas Davis Jr. and Jakobe Clapper, but could it benefit from some more depth? When it comes to Thomas Davis Jr., Notre Dame had two victories of sorts. The first was initially landing him, and the second came when ND was able to seemingly fend off his father's alma mater, Georgia, who were looking to flip him. Davis Jr. is an athletically gifted second-level player who, during his Junior season, was asked to play a LB's role from almost a Nickelback-type alignment at times, showing his ability to read and react and play in space. Clapper is a high-level run stopper who, because of his use of hands and natural bend, offers versatility as a pass rusher as well. Both players have the talent to see the field down the line, with Clapper being a potential position change candidate because of his versatility. Another downhill thumper in the second level could benefit the Fighting Irish. Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your Notre Dame Pickleball Paddle Here Offensive Tackle Although there are four players listed as Offensive Tackles already committed to the 2026 class, my inclusion of this position group is due to some projections for the next level. Players like Ben Nichols and Gregory Patrick, I could see kicking inside to play Guard, which leaves Grayson McKeogh and Charlie Thom. McKeogh has received a lot of hype as of late due to his athletic profile and high upside, but he just began playing OT during his Junior season and will still need more polishing. Thom spent his Junior season as an H-Back/Tight End, before reclassifying as an Offensive Tackle and switching schools heading into his 2025 Senior campaign. McKeogh has a full year at his new position under his belt and should see a large jump in development as a Senior, whereas Thom will only get one season to try to develop his skillset as an offensive tackle before graduating and moving on to Notre Dame. In both instances, it leaves the Tackle position a bit raw, and could be an area to monitor going forward. No recruiting class is perfect, but Notre Dame has certainly separated itself when it comes to acquiring the talent needed to consistently field a winning product. The internal moves made throughout the recruiting department, as well as the hiring of new GM Mike Martin, have yielded the type of results that are reserved for the sports elite, and the Blue and Gold are firmly a part of that conversation and do not seem to be going away any time soon. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

Notre Dame has been weak when it comes to true receiving threats over the past few years. With the group heading into 2025, that could very much change with a deep wide receiver room and solid tight ends. Photo by The Irish Tribune Notre Dame fans have gotten used to a mundane passing attack that always lacked explosive playmakers. There have been exceptions, whether that was Chase Claypool, Miles Boykin, and a few others throughout the last ten years. More recently, that passing attack has severely lacked that type of player, making Notre Dame's offense incredibly one-dimensional. The running game has always been productive at Notre Dame, but it was always asked to carry much of the load on the offensive side of the ball. Last year, that running game was good enough to get the Fighting Irish to the National Championship. In 2025, Notre Dame may finally be able to match an explosive running game with a passing game to match. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! It starts with the players that Notre Dame is bringing back, most importantly, Jaden Greathouse. At the end of last season, Greathouse began to show glimpses of a true WR1 that Notre Dame has desperately needed for years now. Whether it was contested catches on the outside or finding holes in the middle of the defense, he showed that he can hurt the defense anywhere on the field. The next step for Greathouse will be to do this on a week-to-week basis. Luckily for Greathouse and the rest of this offense, he is not the only returning player who can make plays through the air. Jordan Faison is also a player to watch out for this upcoming season. As Notre Dame's do-it-all, gadget receiver, Faison is an excellent weapon to have in the slot. Last season, Faison was still a viable option for Notre Dame, even while dealing with a nagging ankle injury that he battled all season. KK Smith is also returning after not seeing much time last season. He does possess exceptional speed, making him an interesting rotational player and a possible special-teams player. As for the younger guys, Cam Williams and Micah Gilbert may finally be able to see some playing time this season. Both were highly touted recruits coming out of high school, and Notre Dame fans are eager to see that talent on the field. Williams has a promising blend of size and speed that could make him a weapon on the outside. Gilbert is a bit smaller, but he does contain all the speed needed to become an explosive target. Logan Saldate was another player who joined the team in the same class as Williams and Gilbert. He may struggle to see the field as a slot wide receiver. Logan does, however, provide excellent depth for the position. Notre Dame also has some exciting freshmen wide receivers who may not see playing time, but will be able to provide depth and learn under the older guys. Elijah Burress, Scrap Richardson, and Jerome Bettis Jr. all fit this category. The three have all shown promise in spring camp and the Blue-Gold game. Richardson may have been one of the best surprises thus far, as it was clear his speed can be a future asset to this offense. Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your Notre Dame Pickleball Paddle Here The last part of this wide receiver room is the incoming portal transfers. Notre Dame landed two talented players who will immediately make a difference. Malachi Fields headlines the new additions as one of the best portal wide receivers available in the portal. Fields is a big-bodied target with amazing speed for someone of his size. He is a proven commodity, producing for a lackluster Virginia offense for the past few years. The other addition to the group is Will Pauling. Pauling has had some injury problems in his past, but when healthy, he is an elusive, sure-handed receiver. Mainly playing in the slot, Pauling and Faison will create a dangerous tandem to work the middle of the field. The tight end position also has a lot of depth to add to this already deep roster. Notre Dame has a storied history of producing some of the country's best tight ends. This season, there may be no elite option that is bound for a huge year, but the group does contain a lot of really solid options to help this team win. The senior, Eli Raridon, is the presumed starter to start the season. Raridon is a talented player, but a pair of ACL injuries has hindered his ability to really reach his full potential. If healthy, Raridon is a solid option in the passing game and a good blocker to help in the run game. Junior Cooper Flanagan saw playing time last season and looked good in his limited playing time. With that playing time, he provides the room with more playing experience, something a team can never have too much of. Maybe the most interesting player in this room is Ty Washington. Washington transferred to Notre Dame in the winter after playing at Arkansas. Washington did not see many snaps while playing for the Razorbacks, but his athleticism is undeniable. He moves incredibly well for a player his size, standing at 6'4", 247 pounds. This will make him a tough man to guard downfield. With that being said, there is still a lot of unknown with Washington, so time will tell. Looking at one of the younger guys in the room, Jack Larsen's spring game gives a glimpse of what the future might hold for this group. Still just a freshman, Larsen will probably not see any playing time, but he did perform well in the spring game with a few nice catches. Kevin Bauman is another tight end who is lower on the depth chart but shows how deep this group can go, a nice luxury heading into a season Notre Dame hopes goes well into December. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

For generations, Notre Dame has built its brand on a rich history, deep tradition, and on field success. But, over the last few years, something has changed. South Bend has quickly become a premier destination for the sons of NFL stars - and that’s no accident.  Photo by Devin Fitzgerald A few famous names here and there are relatively common throughout college football, but Notre Dame has taken things to a whole new level. The Freeman Era Begins Following the departure of Brian Kelly for LSU, rising head coach Marcus Freeman had his work cut out for him. Not only was he a first-time head coach, but he was also taking over a premier blue-chip college football program that hadn’t been able to get over that hump from tier one competitor to true contender. A New Kind of Recruiting While a multitude of strategies have brought the Irish to this moment, the most striking progression has been in their new recruiting approach. Due to his experience as an elite college football player and a stint as a pro with one of the best teams in the game, Freeman has been able to recruit at a level that Brian Kelly simply couldn’t. Kelly was known for his CEO type approach to Notre Dame‘s program during his time, and Freeman couldn’t be farther from that. Kelly recruited primarily based on results, rankings, and professionalism, while Freeman completely flipped this mentality on its head. This new recruiting strategy began during his single season as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. Freeman focused on developing a genuine connection with potential recruits, but more importantly, with their families. Instead of selling these young men on the Notre Dame brand alone, Freeman quickly understood that the brand sells itself, and the real linchpin was gaining their trust. Freeman’s experience as a player has earned him a level of authenticity with potential recruits that the program was previously lacking. This, combined with his personal and genuine approach, made developing trust easier and happen faster. The Talent The numbers back it up, but the names tell the real story. Over the last few seasons, Notre Dame has quietly assembled one of the most impressive collections of NFL pedigree in all of college football. These legacy athletes cover recent grads and transfers, current players, and incoming prospects. Here’s a look at the growing list of legacy athletes who have chosen to don the gold helmet: A. Current Roster Bryce Young – DL Son of Bryant Young (DL, 49ers, HOF) CJ Carr – QB Grandson of Lloyd Carr (Michigan coach) Jerome Bettis Jr. – WR Son of Jerome Bettis (RB, Steelers, HOF, ND alum) Elijah Burress – WR Son of Plaxico Burress (WR Steelers/Giants) James Flanigan – TE Son of Jim Flanigan (DT, Bears/ND) B. 2026 Commitments Thomas Davis Jr. – LB Son of Thomas Davis Sr. (Panthers LB, 3x Pro Bowler) (UGA) Kaydon Finley – WR Son of Jermichael Finley (Packers TE, Super Bowl winner) (Texas) Devin Fitzgerald – WR Son of Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals WR, 2nd all-time in yards) (Pitt) C. Recent Players Jordan Clark – DB (Graduated) Son of Ryan Clark (Steelers/ ESPN Analyst) RJ Oben – DL (Graduated) Son of Roman Oben (Giants OT) Joe Alt – OL (Graduated) Son of John Alt (Chiefs) Benjamin Morrison – CB (Graduated) Son of Darryl Morrison (DB, Washington) Howard Cross III – DL (Graduated) Son of Howard Cross (Giants TE) Kennedy Urlacher – LB (Transferred to USC) Son of Brian Urlacher (Bears LB, HOF) Rocco Spindler – OL (Transferred) Son of Marc Spindler (Lions/Jets DL) Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! NFL Family Pitch Every blue-chip college football program sells recruits on their path to the NFL, but Freeman and his staff have taken a different approach. This authenticity and alternative recruiting strategy resonates with former NFL players and their spouses in a way that sets them apart from the rest. You can’t fool a professional football player father with buzzwords and boilerplate pitches – they know what real, elite football environments are like, and who actually talks the talk and walks the walk. Freeman instead chooses to let the brand speak for itself and sell the parts of Notre Dame that set them apart: Development as a man A deep religious tradition and grounding A brotherhood culture in the locker room A modern, player-centric approach to development When these young men and their families sit across from Freeman and his staff, they can see his authenticity and personal touch, while knowing he fully understands the highs and lows of the NFL and how to help their son achieve his goals. Leaning Into Notre Dame Notre Dame’s positioning as a premier independent football program, a Catholic university, and an elite academic institution makes it a true one-of-a-kind, but historically, it hasn’t always been an asset. During his time in South Bend, Brian Kelly routinely tried to underplay what many saw as “obstacles” for the Irish, but Freeman has leaned into them. Instead of apologizing for Notre Dame’s uniqueness, Freeman has used it as a recruiting tool, reframing the University as a place where young men can grow into complete people, be held to a higher standard, and leave prepared not just for the NFL but for life. Yes, this approach may shrink Notre Dame’s recruiting pool, but Freeman and his staff view these standards as beneficial criteria rather than drawbacks. When you believe what you’re selling, athletes can feel it. When you’re able to convince an NFL player that his son will be a part of a program that mirrors the structure, rigor, and discipline of a pro locker room, you get a level of buy-in that supersedes the individual and incorporates the family. This family focus extends to the team, emphasizing Notre Dame’s collective approach over an individual mentality. Freeman’s Age Advantage When Freeman was initially hired, many were concerned about his age (35) and whether he was prepared to lead his players from boys to men. Thankfully, the small age gap has seemingly played to Freeman’s advantage, enabling him to relate better to his young players while sharing their youthful energy and a modern approach to a changing football landscape. He speaks their language: social media, branding, NIL strategy, and building your own name while honoring your family’s legacy. Instead of allowing these NFL sons to live in the shadows of their fathers, Freeman wants them to break the mold and become their own player—but more importantly, their own man. He spends equal time imparting the value of Notre Dame’s culture to players’ families, showing them what makes South Bend different from every other school, and how it can position their sons for success in both football and life after the game. This approach makes it easy to build buy-in from former Irish legends like Jerome Bettis and impresses families who don’t have Fighting Irish roots. Use code "IrishTribune20" to get $20 off your Notre Dame Pickleball Paddle Here “They Don’t Bend Here.” Much has been made of the potential advantage other schools might have over Notre Dame in recruiting due to its academic requirements. Freeman talked about the fact that it takes a “certain type of kid” to play for the Irish, and when questioned about the possibility of losing a 5-star prospect because he “isn’t Notre Dame material,” Freeman retorted: “You gotta be able to say, ‘No,’ because that kid won’t have success here and you’re doing him a disservice,” Freeman said.  “They don’t bend here. You gotta go to class, you gotta study, and they’re gonna hold you to these high academic expectations. We have to understand that.” That’s the exact kind of mentality Freeman and these NFL father’s are looking for: “They Don’t Bend Here” means there is no shortcut, there are no breaks — especially for son’s with a famous dad, and that kind of higher standard and regimented approach will keep heads from getting too big, and maintain focus. NFL Development It’s no secret that Notre Dame has been turning out legitimate NFL prospects for decades, but things have changed during Freeman’s tenure. In just the last three seasons, Notre Dame has produced 16 NFL draft picks. For context, in Brian Kelly’s first three years, his teams produced just 11 draftees. The Irish have made a name for themselves, particularly along the offensive line, in the defensive secondary, and at tight end, demonstrating not only the ability to elevate their players to the next level but also elite development at specific positions. This track record showcases both Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame’s ability to prepare their young men for a successful run at the professional level, as well as a recent upturn in that production. Life Beyond Football Notre Dame’s academic rigor has been one of its greatest selling points for decades. This collegiate development, paired with Notre Dame’s robust alumni network, sets up former players for success regardless of their circumstances. Freeman emphasizes that not all players will reach the NFL, and every member of the Fighting Irish team needs to be prepared for a life beyond football. NFL parents know this better than anyone else—and what better person to convey that message than Marcus Freeman, living proof that life after football can still see the very highest of success. Notre Dame prepares their student-athletes for life after the game, and their continued success is the best advertisement possible. It says something that professional football families see a path to both football and life success through Notre Dame, viewing the university as both an academic powerhouse and a pro-level football program that can prepare them for either side of life’s coin flip. Culture Notre Dame’s culture is as much about academics as it is football, as much about elite professional athletes as it is about business and world leaders. NFL parents have seen what it takes to get to that level, and they trust Notre Dame with their sons’ futures. The Fighting Irish build more than just athletes— they make men. They build leaders, on and off the field. The Marcus Freeman Effect The Marcus Freeman effect is the primary driver of this NFL legacy pipeline. His youthful energy, NFL experience, and personal approach have changed everything. The results speak for themselves. Since taking over the head coaching job, Marcus Freeman has gone 33–10 with three College Football Playoff wins and a national championship appearance in his third year. His early success drew attention from NFL teams, including the Bears, and his most recent postseason run elevated Notre Dame’s level of prestige to heights it hadn’t seen in more than a decade. His experience, track record, and family-first recruiting approach makes him easy for former NFL players to trust. He commands respect and approaches all aspects of the job with professionalism, while remaining approachable. Instead of a figurehead, he’s a presence. He pushes a team-first culture, emphasizing character, personal development, and education. Facility Upgrades While not directly attributed to Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has stepped up its facility footprint. In April 2024, the University broke ground on a new state-of-the-art football facility with over 150,000 sq ft of advanced training and equipment rooms, an augmented reality walk-through space, sports medicine recovery rooms, and player nutritional facilities. Additionally, the space will feature academic support areas for athletes, professional-level weight training facilities, media innovation spaces equipped with video, recording, and photo studios, an expanded locker room, and a two-level auditorium that can accommodate the entire team. The new facility will be named the Jack and Kathy Shields Family Hall and will be roughly 50% larger than Notre Dame’s current football facility, “The Gug.” The price tag has not been revealed, but it’s expected to exceed $100 million. Branding & National Schedule Notre Dame’s independent schedule allows them to play whoever, and wherever, from East Coast to West Coast, and at least six home games on national television per year. That’s the kind of free publicity and high visibility that top collegiate athletes are looking for—and NFL families know how important that is. This independent identity positions the Irish as one of college football’s few “national” programs—not regionally confined—and one of the most televised teams in the sport. The Timing Several factors contribute to Notre Dame’s recent influx of NFL legacy athletes, with the most obvious being their recent success. Notre Dame’s 2025 National Championship appearance did wonders for them on the recruiting trail, despite not winning the title. The Irish finished with the 12th-best recruiting class in 2025 but currently sit at #3 overall in 2026 with 26 commits, including one 5-star recruit and 18 4-star recruits. Just a single successful season pushed the Irish up 9 spots in recruiting rankings – imagine what a few years with similar success would do.  The Results In the end, it’s not just the wins, the facilities, or the legacy of the Golden Dome drawing these families in—it’s the culture. It’s the way Marcus Freeman connects. It’s what Notre Dame stands for. That’s why, year after year, more and more NFL greats are trusting their sons to South Bend—not to follow in their footsteps, but to forge their own. The result? A roster full of names that echo across NFL history, now building their own legacy in blue and gold. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun

As fall camp creeps around the corner, it is a perfect time for Notre Dame fans to begin to comprehend the path that lies ahead of them in 2025. Art by The Irish Tribune As the 2024 season showed, not only for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, upsets can happen when people least expect them. Obviously, the losses to Marshall and Northern Illinois have humbled the Irish, but Marcus Freeman has matured as a head coach who has now begun to learn how to channel expectations and continue his path at leading his team to their truest potential. In 2025, the Fighting Irish's schedule appears significantly more intimidating than the year prior. While the first two games are garnering the most attention, beginning the year in Coral Gables to play Miami and then returning home two weeks later to face off against the Texas A&M Aggies, there are plenty of games following these that will pin the Irish into difficult situations. With that being said, this will be a four-part series that runs through every regular season game of the 2025 season. In this edition, we will be briefly previewing the first three games of the season against the Hurricanes, Aggies, and Purdue Boilermakers. Labor Day Sunday @ Miami 2024 Record: 10-3 No. of Returning Offensive Starters: Three No. of Returning Defensive Starters: Five The Miami Hurricanes are entering another season in the Mario Cristobal era and in this iteration, Cristobal will be putting his faith in transfer portal quarterback, Carson Beck. Beck, who is recovering from an UCL tear in the SEC Championship, is looking to fill the shoes left by the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Cam Ward. Last season, the Hurricanes saw their college football playoff hopes slip through the cracks while going 1-2 in their last three games of the regular season, with losses to Georgia Tech in the beginning of November and a loss to Syracuse that knocked them out of an ACC championship game appearance. Outside of those blemishes, the Hurricanes started the season 9-0 and were powered by the aerial attack led by Ward and his wide receiving threats. In 2025, the Hurricanes are looking to improve on a poor defensive season that led to the hiring of a new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to replace Lance Guidry. Miami was also extremely active in the transfer portal, especially in the secondary, as they added six defensive backs to their defense. In this game, a key variable to watch will be the turnover battle. At Georgia last year, Beck was quite interception-prone, and with a ball-hawking Irish secondary, it should be an interesting facet to monitor in Chris Ash's first game as the Notre Dame DC. Whether or not the Miami defense pressure CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey in their first collegiate start is the opposite end of the matchup that could dictate this game as well. Want the inside scoop on all things Notre Dame? Subscribe to Tribune+ today! Week Three vs Texas A&M 2024 Record: 8-5 No. of Returning Offensive Starters: Seven No. of Returning Defensive Starters: Eight After seeing how the Irish handle week one, things do not get much easier in their second game of the season. While the Irish still get a BYE week, Mike Elko's return to Notre Dame will be one rooted in revenge. Outside of last season's opening victory in College Station, Freeman also got the best of Elko in Durham two years ago in another heartbreaking loss for a Mike Elko-led team. While the Irish will be playing a similar team from a year ago, the Aggies have found a new signal caller to lead their offense in Marcel Reed. Reed is a dual-threat quarterback who fits into offensive coordinator, Collin Klein's scheme extremely well. In less than a full-season, Reed threw for 1,864 yards and added 547 yards on the ground as well. This will be a Texas A&M team whose identity lays on the strength of its defense. While losing EDGE rushers Nic Scourton and possibly, Shemar Stewart, to the NFL, the Aggies still return eight starters on defense, including linebackers Taurean York and Scooby Williams. Texas A&M also has pre-season all-SEC first team running back Le'Veon Moss, who rushed for 765 yards last season while missing the last five games due to an season-ending knee injury. They also got recognition on the offensive end in two all-SEC second team off ensive linemen in Trey Zuhn III and Ar'maj Reed-Adams, and a third team selection in lineman, Chase Bisontis. While Freeman is only 1-2 in his career for first home games, this will be his hardest test to date, and it is imperative that the Irish go at least 1-1 through these first two games. Week Four vs Purdue 2024 Record: 1-11 No. of Returning Offensive Starters: One No. of Returning Defensive Starters: Zero Arguably the easiest game on Notre Dame's schedule is week four against Purdue. While last season I may have pegged Northern Illinois as Notre Dame's easiest game, Purdue is a team that is looking to rebuild itself after a truly disappointing year. The Boilermakers are attempting to completely revamp their program with the hiring of Barry Odom, who had success at UNLV before agreeing to this position with Purdue. While many talented pieces including Max Klare and Dillon Thinneman left Purdue, they have been extremely active in the transfer portal acquiring Power 4 talent. The quarterback competition should be a deep one for Odom, who is set to choose between Ryan Browne, Malachi Singleton, an Arkansas transfer and a few other candidates. The sole returning starter from the 2024 team is running back Devin Mockobee who rushed for 687 yards and four touchdowns a year ago. While Purdue is still entering their rebuilding phase, they still have a plethora of talent that they acquired from the portal. While the first few weeks should showcase their development before the Irish face them, a week three matchup against USC should be a clear indication for what type of team Notre Dame would be set to play. Click to Join! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/legionoftheleprechaun