Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 APRIL 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Angeli No. 1, Carr No. 2 and incoming freshman Blake Hebert No. 3 without naming a starter. By doing so, he would keep Angeli from entering the transfer portal and at Notre Dame through the 2025 season — though I believe Carr will be the program's starting passer com- ing out of fall camp. In this scenario, Minchey would also transfer out. There's always a possibility Angeli leaves after the spring if he doesn't win the job immediately and Minchey stays. However, I predict the opposite is much more likely. I do not expect Hebert's name to surface yet, although he does have starter traits to lead the program in the future. Recruiting insider Mike Singer: Notre Dame will need leadership on of- fense, and I'm told Angeli has already taken that responsibility on himself. I have a hard time seeing him coming out of the spring as anything but the leader in the clubhouse for QB1. Is he the long-term plan at quarter- back? Probably not. But this is Notre Dame, and the Irish need to play the quarterback that gives them the best chance to win now. Will he have a short leash? Most likely. From everything I've gathered behind the scenes, the favorite to start for the Irish against Miami is Angeli. But as far as the Texas A&M game or any others during the season, who knows? In terms of the QB2 race, I'm going with CJ Carr to be ahead of Kenny Minchey, and in that scenario, it wouldn't shock me if Minchey left for greener pastures. PLAYERS WHO WILL MAKE THE BIGGEST JUMPS ON THE DEPTH CHART Staff writer Tyler Horka: On of- fense, it's freshman wide receiver Eli- jah Burress. Notre Dame fans have been waiting for a first-year receiver to come in and light the world on fire, and I've got a feeling it'll be a kid who's got the game in his blood. He is the son of a former wideout who caught a game-winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl. This isn't about Plaxico, though; it's about Elijah, a dang good ball player in his own right. He'll turn heads in the spring. Sophomore defensive back Tae John- son will also impress. We went so long without hearing from him because of his injury as a freshman. By way of that, we don't really know where he is on the depth chart. I just know he's going to surge up it this spring. Staff writer Jack Soble: I like soph- omore wide receiver Logan Saldate to rise into a role similar to Jayden Har- rison's last season. Notre Dame can al- ways use more speed and quickness, and he brings that out of the slot. Mike Denbrock was asked which youngsters impressed him in College Football Playoff prep before the Indiana game, and he led with, "I like Saldate." On defense, there are a few names I'm watching here. I will certainly say soph- omore defensive end Loghan Thomas. Elsewhere on the defensive line, I'm very curious to see what kind of leap sopho- more Sean Sevillano Jr. makes at defen- sive tackle. I think he showed a ton of potential late last season. I don't know what position Johnson will play, but I think he's going to help Notre Dame in some capacity in 2025 and start in 2026. Recruiting reporter Kyle Kelly: Ju- nior defensive tackle Armel Mukam al- ready flashed last preseason and was close to cracking the rotation during the 2024 campaign. However, defensive line coach Al Washington leaned heavily on experi- ence down the stretch. Mukam's close; now he just needs to put it all together. Sophomore tight end Jack Larsen will be just one of three scholarship tight ends available this spring, giving him a huge runway to make a leap. Similarly to Mukam, sophomore cor- nerback Karson Hobbs was on the cusp of cracking the lineup last season, but defensive backs coach Mike Mickens rode with Gray and Moore. With a good spring, Hobbs should be in the rotation. Lastly, Loghan Thomas is my surprise breakout player. Given how much spe- cial teams he played as a true freshman, Notre Dame sees him as a big-time contributor. He already flashed in lim- ited defensive reps, and he'll be able to do plenty this spring with Botelho and Traore recovering from their injuries. Recruiting insider Mike Singer: I've been bullish on the potential for Eli- jah Burress to play as a true freshman and potentially to make a splash like Jor- dan Faison did a couple years ago. Notre Dame sources have been really high on him, and he'll show off his skills this spring (and a bonus, keep an eye on ju- nior wide receiver KK Smith, too). Defensively, watch out for sophomore Kennedy Urlacher at the safety spot. Whether it's in a special package or he just finds the field in some spot snaps, I believe we'll see Urlacher on the field this fall. PLAYERS THAT NEED A GOOD SPRING Staff writer Tyler Horka: I'll get the obvious out of the way early and in few words: Angeli. And the other quar- terbacks, too, for that matter. Beyond them, rising sophomore wide receiver Cam Williams can't afford to let the incoming freshmen pass him by. He's on the fans' proverbial hot seat for not doing anything to this point in his career. He really won't be doing any- thing if the newcomers immediately have an edge over him. On defense, junior safety Luke Ta- lich has an opportunity to have a spe- cial spring with Virginia Tech graduate transfer Jalen Stroman out with an injury. There are several safeties competing for one starting spot, and Talich is the oldest among them. He needs to do his best to prove he's the right guy for the job. 2025 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W Sophomore defensive end Loghan Thomas has the talent to be a breakout player in 2025 after contributing heavily on special teams this past season. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER