Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 MARCH 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Julia Andreach — Tennis The senior from Rochester, N.Y., improved her singles re- cord to 3-0 with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-7 (5) win over No. 110-ranked Gracie Mulville during a hard- fought 4-3 team victory over Kansas Jan. 27 in Columbus, Ohio. Playing No. 2 singles, Andreach found herself down 2-0 in a final and decisive third-set tie- breaker but came from behind with six straight points to earn the individual victory and secure the Irish's win over the Jayhawks. Madelyn Christman — Swimming The junior from Carmel, Ind., earned ACC Swimmer of the Week honors Jan. 16 — her first such weekly con- ference accolade — after her stellar showing in a home meet against Princeton and Navy Jan. 12-13. Christman earned individual wins in the 100 and 200 backstroke. She posted a personal-best time of 1:54.07 in the 200, which stood as the fourth-fastest time in the ACC and the 20th-best mark in the NCAA at the time. Riley Robinson — Fencing The sophomore from Las Vegas went 21-0 in epee in the DeCicco Duals Jan. 27-28 at Notre Dame. He won ev- ery dual he fenced without dropping a bout during the two-day event in which the Fighting Irish men went 13-0 as a team. Robinson went 27-3 at the DeCicco Duals last year, making him 48-3 in two career appear- ances at the event. Landon Slaggert — Hockey The senior from South Bend was named a candidate for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Jan. 26. The prestigious honor is presented each year to the top player in Division I men's hockey. Through 28 games as of Feb. 3, Slaggert led Notre Dame and was tied for third in the Big Ten with 16 goals. He also contributed 9 assists for a team- high 25 points. TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE As the winter transfer portal settles down — even among Alabama, Washington and Arizona players, who received an extra 30-day window when their head coaches retired or switched schools — it's worth examining where Notre Dame's additions stack up in On3's rankings. Much like it does with high school prospects, On3 ranks the top 300 players that entered the transfer portal. Six new Fighting Irish made the list, starting with former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard. He is On3's seventh-ranked transfer in the country and third-ranked signal-caller, behind only Julian Sayin (Alabama to Ohio State) and Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma to Oregon). Former Florida International wide receiver Kris Mitchell and former Northwestern safety Rod Heard II also made the top 100, ranked Nos. 29 and 66, respectively. Heard's placement features the greatest disparity between his On3 Ranking and On3 Industry Ranking among Notre Dame transfer additions, with the Industry Ranking listing him at No. 238. Rounding out the top five are former Duke defensive end RJ Oben (No. 136) and former Arizona State nickel back Jordan Clark (No. 152). Other sites are higher on Oben, who slots in at No. 67 in the Industry Ranking. Former Clemson wide receiver Beaux Collins is No. 205 on On3's list, while former Marshall wide receiver Jayden Harrison and former South Car- olina kicker Mitch Jeter did not make the cut. As far as former Notre Dame players who transferred out go, three made On3's top 300. Wide receiver Chris Tyree (Virginia) is No. 93, wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. (UCLA) is No. 168 and center Zeke Correll (NC State) is No. 249. Notre Dame ranks 16th in On3's Team Transfer Portal Rankings, which factors both transfers in and transfers out. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH ONE MORE YEAR Notre Dame lost six players to early draft declarations, but the Irish got luckier than most teams when NFL hopefuls decided to stay or go. According to Pro Football Focus, Notre Dame senior tight end Mitchell Evans and graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III are the best players at their respective positions who could have entered the 2024 NFL Draft but decided to return to school. Only two teams, including the Irish, had multiple representatives on PFF's 11-position list. Ohio State brought back running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and edge rusher Jack Sawyer, who were all named the best non-declarations at their positions. Before going down with a torn ACL in late October, Evans had one of the best five-week runs of any tight end in the country. He wound up with a team-high 29 receptions for 422 yards and 1 touchdown in just eight games played. Evans' injury was brutal, given the season he'd been having, but it also made his stay-or-go deci- sion easy. "Once he recovers from his knee injury, Evans should establish himself as one of the nation's best tight ends and one of the top ones in the 2025 NFL Draft," PFF's Max Chadwick wrote. Cross made 29 run stops, which PFF defines as tackles against the run that result in a failure for the offense. That ranked second among all defensive tackles in the country. He finished the season with a whopping 66 tackles, with 7 tackles for loss, 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. — Jack Soble THE TOP COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYER AT EACH POSITION THAT TURNED DOWN THE 2024 NFL DRAFT According to Pro Football Focus TOP FIVE NOTRE DAME TRANSFER ADDITIONS Player, Former School Pos. Rank* Riley Leonard, Duke QB 7 Kris Mitchell, FIU WR 29 Rod Heard II, Northwestern S 66 RJ Oben, Duke DE 136 Jordan Clark, Arizona State NB 152 * On3 Transfer Portal Rankings Pos. Player School QB Carson Beck Georgia RB TreVeyon Henderson Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka Ohio State TE Mitchell Evans Notre Dame OT Aireontae Ersery Minnesota IOL Luke Kandra Cincinnati Pos. Player School IDL Howard Cross III Notre Dame Edge Jack Sawyer Ohio State LB Barrett Carter Clemson CB Jabbar Muhammad Oregon S Rod Moore Michigan