Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 JUNE/JULY 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Karina Gaskins — Softball The senior infielder from Edison, N.J., drove in the game-winning run in a 6-5 home win over No. 21 Clem- son April 21 at Melissa Cook Stadium. With two strikes and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, she delivered a walk-off one-run single. Through 45 games, Gaskins was tied for first on the Irish in home runs (8), and ranked third in batting average (.327) and second in runs batted in (34). Pat Kavanagh — Lacrosse The graduate student attacker from Rock- ville Centre, N.Y., tallied 6 points in an emphatic 14-6 win for the No. 1 Irish over North Carolina in the regular- season home finale at Arlotta Stadium April 20. Kavanagh recorded 2 goals and 4 assists in a victory that stretched Notre Dame's winning streak to seven matches and secured it at least a share of the ACC regular-season title. Jacob Modleski — Golf Playing in his first ACC Championship, the freshman from Noblesville, Ind., led all Irish golfers when he finished 11th individually in stroke play at Charlotte Country Club in North Caro- lina April 19-21. Modleski, a two-time Indi- ana high school state cham- pion, carded scores of 71, 69 and 72 to fin- ish with a 1-under-par 212 in the three-round event, recording 11 birdies along the way. Jadin O'Brien — Track and Field The senior from Pewaukee, Wis., was tabbed the ACC Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week April 23, after a standout meet the previous weekend at the Mt. SAC Relays in Wal- nut, Calif. O'Brien recorded a per- sonal-best 6,115 points in the heptathlon, which set a school record and also met the automatic Olympic qualification standard to secure her a spot at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in June. — Todd D. Burlage TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE On April 25, the Chicago Bears made Caleb Williams the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. This has been a foregone conclusion for months, and during that time, his detractors used these four words a lot: "What about Notre Dame?" Williams played the worst game of his career against Notre Dame, throwing 3 of his 5 junior-year in- terceptions Oct. 14 in South Bend. Then-senior Xavier Watts picked him off twice, and then-sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison added one more. Much of the credit, the Irish defenders at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February and early March said, goes to defensive coordinator Al Golden. "We had a wrinkle," cornerback Cam Hart said. "We didn't play a normal defense. Coach Golden put in some kind of freaky defense that's hard to explain." Linebacker JD Bertrand tried his best to describe it. Essentially, the Irish used two different pass-rush- ing tactics. They often cage-rushed him, which means they sent defenders into every possible gap in the hopes of collapsing the pocket and giving Williams — known for extending plays — nowhere to run. Notre Dame also flushed Williams away from the pocket and deployed a quarterback spy. Once Williams "escaped," the spy would be right there to greet him. At least one person in attendance that night thought the Irish defense was the driving factor in Williams' performance. Bears general manager Ryan Poles was there, and he didn't let what he saw stop him from taking the now-former Trojan. If Williams becomes an NFL star, he'll do it less than two hours west of the one stadium where he was made to look human. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH HIGH POTENTIAL? On April 10, The Athletic's college football staff ranked all 70 power-conference programs (including Washington State and Oregon State) based on recruiting potential. The ranking aimed to answer the question, "Which schools are set up to recruit the best moving forward?" Notre Dame received a bump up from last season's placement, moving from 12th to ninth, but the voters still want to see more from Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. "Notre Dame's average class ranking during Brian Kelly's 11 full cycles as head coach: 12," The Athletic college football editor Mitch Light wrote. "The average during Marcus Freeman's two full cycles: 10.5. "The point: Freeman has not upgraded the Fighting Irish's recruiting quite like most of us expected. This is a program with a very high recruiting floor. Can Freeman blow through its ceiling?" Criteria for recruiting potential includes the current head coach, location, history, facilities and name, image and likeness program. Freeman is off to a good start in the 2025 recruiting cycle, in which the Irish are ranked fifth in the On3 In- dustry Team Recruiting Rankings. On3's formula adjusts for class size, so Notre Dame's top-five mark is not just a reflection of the Irish having the most commits in the country (19 as of April 26). The Athletic lists the Irish just behind USC and just ahead of Texas A&M. — Jack Soble POWER CONFERENCE TEAMS WITH THE MOST RECRUITING POTENTIAL Rk. School Last season 1. Georgia 1 2. Ohio State 3 3. Texas 5 4. LSU 4 5. Alabama 2 6. Oregon 9 7. Miami 11 8. USC 6 9. Notre Dame 12 10. Texas A&M 7 Irish safety Xavier Watts victimized the 2024 NFL Draft's No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams, with a pair of intercep- tions in Notre Dame's beatdown of USC this past October. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER CALEB WILLIAMS' FIVE INTERCEPTIONS IN 2023 Date Player Team Sept. 30 Cam'Ron Silmon-Craig Colorado Oct. 14 Xavier Watts Notre Dame Oct. 14 Xavier Watts Notre Dame Oct. 14 Benjamin Morrison Notre Dame Nov. 18 Devin Kirkwood UCLA