Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 31 a cover corner and a run defender, but he turned his game up a notch in the CFP. In Notre Dame's four playoff games, Moore was targeted 19 times. He al- lowed 8 receptions (42.1 completion percentage) for 57 yards (3.0 yards per attempt). Those numbers are unheard of, particularly in the postseason. 2. Center Pat Coogan Notre Dame had extremely high hopes for Craig, who won the starting center job with a strong finish to the 2023 season. Those hopes lasted a little more than two games, before he tore his ACL at Purdue. Enter Coogan, who picked up right where Craig left off and then some. He al- lowed 7 quarterback pressures and 1 sack all season, finishing with a 79.0 PFF pass- protection grade. Many of Love's explosive runs were the result of Coogan climbing to the second level on a double-team, too. T3. Vyper Junior Tuihalamaka and Right Guard Rocco Spindler Tuihalamaka was an afterthought in Week 1, serving as the third-string vyper behind graduate student Jordan Botelho and sophomore Boubacar Traore. But soon after the season began, Botelho and Traore went down with season-ending knee injuries. Tuihalamaka stepped in and just kept making plays. He ranked second on the Irish in quarterback pressures with 26. Four of those came in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, one of which was a sack on redshirt sophomore Bulldogs quarter- back Gunner Stockton. Spindler replaced junior Billy Schrauth (ankle) at right guard. He played well enough that when Schrauth came back, he moved to the left side and Spindler remained in the lineup. He dealt with an ankle injury in the CFP, but he just kept gutting it out for the Irish. FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR 1. Cornerback Leonard Moore Moore played more than twice as many defensive snaps (736) as the Notre Dame freshman who logged the next most, linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (343). Of course, corners aren't rotated as much as linebackers. But for Moore to play as much as he did for one of the nation's best passing defenses, and to be such a big reason that statement is true, he absolutely deserves to be on a pedestal a head higher than his peers from the same class. Moore also had Notre Dame's sec- ond-highest Pro Football Focus grade (89.1) of any Irish defensive player. Enough said. T2. Left Tackle Anthonie Knapp If we're going to sing Moore's praises for playing as much as we did, we obvi- ously need to do the same for Knapp. He was on the field for 843 snaps before going down for the year in the national semifi- nal, third-most offensive plays logged by any Notre Dame player this season. The left tackle spot is one of the most important positions in any offense, and Knapp held it down from the season opener into the Orange Bowl. Mighty impressive feat for a first-year player. T2. RB Aneyas Williams Everyone knew Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price would be Notre Dame's top two tailbacks this season. There was an open competition for the coveted No. 3 spot, which guarantees some playing time, unlike slots 4 and 5, and Williams won it. Easily. The first-year back proved himself to the Notre Dame coaching staff to be a trusted pass blocker, and he can really run the rock, too, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and 9.6 yards per catch. He's a sure-handed machine out of the back- field on third down. T2. Defensive End Bryce Young Notre Dame was always going to need Young to eat some snaps at strong-side defensive end given the personnel at the position, but when Duke transfer RJ Oben didn't have the regular season he was looking for, the Irish needed Young to step up even more. So he did. Young played 374 defensive snaps this season, coming up with 1.5 sacks and 3 tackles for loss. His greatest contribu- tions came on special teams — he blocked 3 kicks, ranking second in the nation. In just one season, he became somebody opposing coaches have to scout for. If not, they pay the price. ✦ Junior right tackle Aamil 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). PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER