Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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30 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED made himself a stalwart of the Notre Dame offensive line — and the unques- tioned emotional leader of it. Who saw that coming? Good on Coogan. MOST UNDERRATED 1. Right Tackle Aamil Wagner Right tackle was supposed to be Notre Dame's biggest weakness, but Wagner turned it into a strength. You never re- ally noticed him when you watched the Irish offense, because he was just rock- solid in the run and pass game. "It's just been a stabilizing factor to everything that we're doing up front to know that guy's been locked in all year," offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. "You're still paying attention to what he's doing, but you can also turn your attention to making sure every- body else is doing what they're sup- posed to do." Wagner finished the year with the highest PFF run-blocking grade (78.1) on the team and a well-above-average pass-blocking grade (72.2). He strug- gled in the Orange Bowl against Penn State star Abdul Carter, but he did win one crucial battle: recovering a Steve Angeli fumble on Notre Dame's field- goal drive to end the first half. Wagner told On3's Andy Staples that Carter initially had the ball, but Wagner stripped it away from him. Without that play, the Irish might not have competed for a title. 2. Nickel Back Jordan Clark Few positions in sports are as under- appreciated and important as the nickel back spot. Clark came in as a graduate transfer from Arizona State and had a phenomenal season at Notre Dame. Opposing quarterbacks threw at Clark 53 times, completing 33 passes for 301 yards. That comes out to 5.7 yards per attempt per PFF. When he did allow a reception, he almost always made the tackle right away. More often than not, he did so short of the sticks. He also gave up next to nothing over the top, with opposing wideouts averaging 9.1 yards per reception against him. With Clark in the fold, throwing on the Irish became as difficult as it's ever been in South Bend. He completed a dominant secondary. T3. Running Back Aneyas Wil- liams and Linebacker Jack Kiser Williams' playing time actually drew some complaints from casual fans early in the season. They're not complaining now. Sure, he's not as explosive as Love or even junior Jadarian Price. But Wil- liams is a tough runner who breaks arm tackles. He earned playing time on third downs because he can pass- protect. And he's an outstanding pass- catching back, which he showed in the Orange Bowl against Penn State. Wil- liams caught 5 passes for 66 yards in the win over the Nittany Lions, including a 36-yard sluggo that sparked the offense early in the second half. Amid all the youth in the linebacker room, Kiser could get lost in the shuffle. But Notre Dame never lost sight of how valuable he was. The sixth-year veteran led the Irish with 90 tackles and 31 de- fensive stops, and his leadership in the middle of the defense was irreplaceable. BEST 'NEXT OPTION' 1. Cornerback Leonard Moore When Morrison (hip) went down, many around college football thought, "This is it." Notre Dame couldn't possibly survive a season-ending injury, on top of all its others, to its shutdown cornerback. Little did they know, the Irish had an- other shutdown corner waiting in the wings. Morrison predicted that Moore would be as good or better than he was at Notre Dame, and through one season, it looks like he was correct. The lengthy, athletic corner earned FWAA Freshman Defen- sive Player of the Year honors. He was outstanding in the regular season as both Cornerback Leonard Moore was tabbed as the Football Writers Association of America's Freshman Defensive Player of the Year and a Freshman All-American. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER