Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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80 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2025 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY KYLE KELLY I n the eyes of On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power, national scout Cody Bellaire and the rest of the On3 rankings department, only three players nationally project better than Notre Dame five-star offensive tackle signee Will Black in the 2025 recruiting class. Michigan quarterback Bryce Under- wood from Belleville (Mich.) High, Ala- bama quarterback Keelon Russell out of Duncanville (Texas) High and Geor- gia defensive lineman Elijah Griffin of Pooler (Ga.) Savannah Christian Prep. That's the list. On3 evaluated Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall's Black as the No. 4 overall player in the class, helping Marcus Freeman score a massive ac- complishment in his third recruiting cycle as a head coach. Blue & Gold Illustrated breaks that down, as well as three other relevant notes about the 2025 Irish class. WILL BLACK'S ON3 RANKING IS A BIG DEAL For the first time since On3's incep- tion in 2021, the Notre Dame football program had a prospect rated as a top- five player in its recruiting class. When On3 finalized its 2025 class player rankings Jan. 30, Black was the No. 4 overall player. He also finished as On3's top offensive tackle and top player in Connecticut in the class. He was one of 32 players On3 awarded five-star status. Underwood and Russell were the Nos. 1 and 2 quarterbacks, respectively, and the top players in their respective states. Griffin was the No. 1 defensive lineman in America and the No. 1 player in Geor- gia. Notre Dame offered scholarships to Underwood and Griffin, but neither visited campus. Before On3 finalized Black's ranking, 2024 class five-star offensive tackle Guerby Lambert out of West Roxbury (Mass.) Catholic Memorial was the highest-ranked Notre Dame recruit in the On3 era, finishing as the No. 2 of- fensive tackle and No. 18 overall player nationally in the cycle. Since 2021, On3 previously as- signed five stars to Notre Dame recruits Charles Jagusah (No. 25 overall), Aamil Wagner (No. 29), Jaylen Sneed (No. 26) and Prince Kollie (No. 25). Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne's Wag- ner and Rock Island (Ill.) Alleman's Jag- usah ranked as the Nos. 3 and 4 offensive tackles in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, respectively. Hilton Head Island (S.C.) Hilton Head's Sneed and Jones- borough (Tenn.) David Crockett High's Kollie were the Nos. 2 and 3 linebackers in 2022 and 2021, respectively. The last Notre Dame recruit to rank among the top five was Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Luers linebacker Jaylon Smith. According to the On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles rat- ings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services, Smith was the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2013 cycle. IRISH WELL REPRESENTED IN THE NAVY ALL-AMERICAN BOWL While the Irish football team was gearing up for a national championship, five of their future players represented the program in the Navy All-American Bowl Jan. 11 in San Antonio. Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep three- star linebacker Anthony Sacca, Green Bay (Wis.) Notre Dame de la Baie Acad- emy four-star tight end James Flanigan and Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rose- mary Hall five-star offensive tackle Will Black played for the East team. Chicago Simeon four-star defensive lineman Christopher Burgess Jr. and Lake Mary (Fla.) High three-star quarterback Noah Grubbs, a 2026 recruit, played for the West squad. Starting this year, the All-American Bowl allowed high school juniors to compete in the annual all-star game, which is why Grubbs suited up. He and the West squad beat the East 13-7. Black was the highest-ranked overall player representing the Irish, listing as the No. 4 recruit in 2025 per On3. Burgess and Flanigan are also recognized in the On300 as the No. 66 and No. 131 overall players in the class, respectively. On3 also ranks Burgess as the No. 3 player in Illinois and No. 6 defensive lineman nationally. Flanigan is the No. 1 recruit in Wisconsin and No. 7 tight end in America. Sacca checks in as the No. 17 prospect from Pennsylvania and the No. 73 line- backer in the land. Grubbs is the No. 26 quarterback in the country and the No. 51 player in Florida in the 2026 class. NOTRE DAME WILL NEED A NEW GENERAL MANAGER The man who helped construct Notre Dame's 2025 recruiting class moved on from the program four days after the national championship game. On Jan. 24, Southern Cal announced it had hired Irish general manager Chad Bowden for the same position. Foot- ballScoop.com reported Bowden's deal with Southern Cal was worth about $1 million annually. It also said Bowden From left to right, defensive lineman Christopher Burgess Jr., offensive tackle Will Black, linebacker Anthony Sacca and tight end James Flanigan, each of whom is a 2025 Notre Dame signee, plus 2026 Irish quarterback commit Noah Grubbs, at the Navy All-American Bowl Jan. 11 in San Antonio. PHOTO COURTESY BURGESS FAMILY Five-Star Will Black Headlines The Irish's No. 12-Ranked Class