Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2024 13 882 Career wins for Notre Dame softball head coach DEANNA GUMPF, who announced her retirement at the end of May. Gumpf guided the Irish to 21 NCAA Tournament appearances in her 23 years at the helm. IRISH ON SOCIAL MEDIA UNDER THE DOME It's a top-five class. It's the best class Notre Dame has had in at least 10 years if they hold on to what they have and add [Braden- ton (Fla.) IMG Academy linebacker Nathaniel] Owusu-Boateng and a couple other guys. It's an ex- ceptionally athletic class, starting with the quarter- back. Everyone — even the offensive linemen — are really athletic. They've done a great job." — Recruiting guru Tom Lemming on Notre Dame's 2025 class this summer; the Irish were No. 6 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings as of July 10 2 Notre Dame players appeared among the top 20 players in ESPN NFL Draft analyst Matt Miller's 2025 mock draft in early July: junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison at No. 13 to the Steelers and senior quarterback Riley Leonard at No. 20 to the Jets. Morrison was the third corner off the board, behind only Michigan's Will Johnson (No. 3 to the Bron- cos) and Colorado's Travis Hunter (No. 9 to the Cardinals). The last time the Irish had a cornerback selected in the first round was when the Bills took Jeff Burris with the No. 27 pick in the 1994 NFL Draft. Leonard was the fifth signal- caller off the board, behind only Georgia's Carson Beck (No. 1, Gi- ants), Colorado's Shedeur Sand- ers (No. 2, Raiders), Texas' Quinn Ewers (No. 10, Saints) and Texas A&M's Conner Weigman (No. 19, Rams). The last Irish quarterback selected in the first round was Brady Quinn, who went No. 22 overall to the Browns in 2007. He's probably a little bit faster than me — probably a lot faster than me — but I can still make those reads, make those throws that he was making, the checks as well. I'm just watching Jayden Daniels film all day. Just being able to replicate him, I think I can do it. Obviously, he had a good year." — Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard on watching film of former LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who was coached by current Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock when he won the Heisman Trophy last year 1st Was where Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard fin- ished in the Air It Out Challenge, a deep-passing competition, at the Manning Passing Academy June 28 in Thibodaux, La. He beat out several of the nation's top signal-callers, including Texas' Quinn Ewers, Alabama's Jalen Milroe, Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, Oklahoma's Jackson Arnold, Missouri's Brady Cook, Clemson's Cade Klubnik and West Virginia's Garrett Greene. People think every assistant coach has to be 32 years old, wear cleats to practice, chest bump players. Well, there is immense value in experience, in people who have been through the battles. Al Golden does that right now on defense. There are people in college football who you know what they run; you know how they do it. You know when a coach gets it fixed at halftime and when they have answers. "Notre Dame is really well positioned with Mike [Denbrock] and Al, two veteran coaches who have done a lot. Frankly, that's a credit to Marcus [Freeman] and his hiring." — Former Irish assistant coach Brian Polian on Notre Dame coordinators Mike Denbrock and Al Golden (The Athletic) 4 Schools have both offensive and defensive coordinators that are among the top 10 highest-paid in the country (per Pro Football Focus): School OC (Rank, Salary*) DC (Rank, Salary*) Notre Dame Mike Denbrock (1st, $2.1) Al Golden (T4th, $2) Ohio State Chip Kelly (2nd, $2) Jim Knowles (T8th, $1.9) Ole Miss Charlie Weis Jr. (5th, $1.6) Pete Golding (3rd, $2.1) Georgia Mike Bobo (T9th, $1.4). Glenn Schumann (T4th, $2) * In millions PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS