Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524949
BY TYLER HORKA AND JACK SOBLE I mportant is often synonymous with good. Three of Blue & Gold Illustrated's top five most important Notre Dame football players of 2023, for instance, were 2024 NFL Draft picks: offensive tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher, and running back Audric Estimé. Important. Good. They were all both last fall. Even when players aren't as good as they'd like to be, though, they're still important. Take defensive end Jordan Botelho, who checked in at No. 6 in last year's top 25. The Blue & Gold Illustrated staff thought he was going to have a breakout season. By most metrics, he did not. He totaled only 4 sacks after his predecessor at his position, Isaiah Foskey, had 11 in back-to-back seasons. It ended up being important, though, that Botelho did not match Foskey's production. If he had, a stout Notre Dame defense would have been even stronger. So here we present Blue & Gold Il- lustrated's top 25 most important Notre Dame football players of 2024. It con- tains surefire NFL Draft choices toward the top and players who probably aren't sure things at the next level but still play vital roles in the Fighting Irish's pros- pects this season. Again, this list is not necessarily ranking the best players on the roster; it's the most important players. Five voters considered talent, impact, place on the depth chart and positional value, but a premium is placed on these two questions: 1) If you subtracted this in- dividual from the roster, how much of a setback would it be? And 2) If this less proven player emerges and makes an impact, how much does that raise the ceiling (or lower it, if a breakout does not happen as expected)? 1. QB RILEY LEONARD Leonard is a dual-threat player at the most important position in the sport like Notre Dame has not had in quite some time. He accounted for 3,666 total yards and 33 total touch- downs for Duke in 2022, one of the best Blue Devils seasons ever on record. The last time a Notre Dame quarterback had at least that many passing plus rushing yards in a single season? Everett Golson had 3,728 in 2014. It has been a decade. The bottom line is Leonard has the potential to do something that's rarely been done at Notre Dame in the modern era. He can be one of the best quarterbacks in the country. The same was said for Sam Hartman a year ago, but this feels different. Leonard's ceiling is a little higher. 2. CB BENJAMIN MORRISON Setting aside the quarterback position, a lockdown No. 1 corner- back is arguably the most valuable RISING TO THE TOP These 25 Notre Dame players will help determine the fate of the Fighting Irish in 2024 20 PRESEASON 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED