Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 SEPT. 7, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME NOTRE DAME NAMES FIVE CAPTAINS FOR 2024 Notre Dame named five team captains for the 2024 season Aug. 18: graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser, senior quarterback Riley Leonard, graduate student defensive tackle Rylie Mills, junior cornerback Benjamin Morrison and graduate student safety Xavier Watts. Leonard is the second straight transfer quarterback to be named captain in his first season with the Irish, following Sam Hartman in 2023. Each of Notre Dame's captains will wear the "C" for the first time, with all four captains from last season — Hartman, offensive tackle Joe Alt, linebacker JD Bertrand and corner- back Cam Hart — moving on to the NFL. Kiser chose to return for his sixth season, and he leads a young linebacker room that sees him more as a coach than a player. He'll be a significant contributor to Notre Dame's defense as well, headlining a linebacker rotation that includes himself, a freshman, two sophomores and one junior. Morrison is the second consecutive true junior to be named captain, following Alt. Like Alt, Morrison is a consensus top-15 NFL Draft prospect. Also like Alt, Morrison took a huge step toward becoming a vocal leader over the offseason. Elsewhere on defense, Mills has taken an active leadership role in coaching up the younger players in the defensive line room. During one practice in fall camp, defensive line coach Al Washington praised Mills for doing so in an individual drill. That's become commonplace. Watts rounds out the group, coming off a Bronko Nagurski Trophy-winning season as the nation's best defensive player. He's the longest-tenured member of the secondary, choosing to return for his fifth year after a breakout campaign. — Jack Soble SEVERAL IRISH MAKE VARIOUS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAMS Some prominent outlets released preseason All-America teams a few weeks before the 2024 season started. Notre Dame had a good deal of representation on those teams. Here's which Notre Dame players were selected by the respective outlets. Sporting News First Team: Graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III, graduate student safety Xavier Watts, junior cor- nerback Benjamin Morrison Second Team: Senior tight end Mitchell Evans, graduate student kick returner Jayden Harrison The Associated Press First Team: Watts, Cross Second Team: Evans, Morrison ESPN First Team: Morrison Second Team: Watts USA Today First Team: Cross Second Team: Morrison, Watts, Harrison The Athletic First Team: Morrison Second Team: Cross, Watts Pro Football Focus First Team: Morrison Second Team: Evans, Cross — Tyler Horka NOTRE DAME LOSES VETERAN CORNERBACK FOR SEASON Notre Dame will be without a depth piece at the cornerback position for all of 2024. Head coach Marcus Freeman announced Aug. 26 that senior corner Chance Tucker is out for the season with a torn ACL. The injury happened during the program's "jersey scrimmage" Aug. 17. Before his senior season, Tucker had appeared in 10 games, including nine in 2023. "We love Chance," Freeman told reporters. "He's a great teammate, a great person — you feel terrible for him that he loses this season." Entering the season, the 6-foot, 189-pound Tucker projected to be a key reserve behind juniors Benjamin Morrison and Jaden Mickey and sophomore Christian Gray. When the Notre Dame football communications team released its Week 1 depth chart, it listed Morrison and Gray as the starters. Behind Morrison, a preseason All-American, and Gray, one of the program's up-and- comers, are Mickey and freshman Leonard Moore. Freeman said he is confident in the secondary personnel he will have available in the early going, from the key names to first-year players like Moore and fellow freshman Karson Hobbs. "We have a lot of depth there," Freeman said. "I'm very confident in the depth of both the safety and the corners room. [Northwestern transfer] Rod Heard II is a guy that can play multiple positions. He can play corner, he can play safety and he can play nickel. He gives you added depth to both rooms." — Kyle Kelly Graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser is one of five first-time team captains for the Irish this season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III received plenty of preseason praise in the form of All- America team nods. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER