Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 APRIL 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Offensive Line Can Be Elite If Irish Get It Right By Jack Soble Notre Dame has three locks on its 2025 offensive line, presuming all are healthy (which is a dangerous assumption, as the 2024 season proved). Aamil Wagner was Notre Dame's rock at right tackle, and he'll start there again this season. Billy Schrauth is a trendy All-America pick who will play one of the guard spots. And who knows where Charles Jagusah plays, but he has to play somewhere after crushing it in the Orange Bowl and national championship game. The Irish have three more offensive linemen who are excellent candidates for starting roles. Ashton Craig was on his way toward a breakout season at center before tearing his ACL in September. Anthonie Knapp held his own as a true freshman after being thrust into the lineup following Jagusah's injury. Guerby Lambert made strides behind the scenes and has every physical tool to be an elite tackle. Unfortunately for one of those three, the Irish can only start five offensive linemen at a time. Someone has to sit. Maybe it's Knapp, but how do you bench someone who started 15 games as a true freshman? Maybe it's Lambert, but how do you bench someone with that much upside? Maybe it's Craig, but how do you bench someone you were so high on before he got hurt — and your only true center? The Irish have to pick one. If they get it right, this could be one of the best offensive lines in college football. Production, Leadership Voids Make It Will Linebacker By Todd D. Burlage Even with plenty of elite talent returning from the 2024 national runner- up Irish, a few position competitions will still set an early tone for the 2025 season and be worth keeping a close eye on this spring. Given the production and leadership voids left after the graduation of six-year mainstay and team captain Jack Kiser, Will linebacker tops the must-watch list. Kiser led the Irish with 90 tackles last season, and he finished his career with a program-record 70 games played, 275 total tackles and a reliability and calmness that will be hard to replace. That's the bad news. The good news is Notre Dame has at least two terrific options to take over for Kiser in rising junior Jaiden Ausberry and rising sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Both budding stars became rotational regulars last season and will battle this spring to become the starter at this critical position that often leads the team in tackles. Ausberry played in all 16 games last season and finished fifth on the Irish with 58 tackles. Viliamu-Asa was slowed some by a knee injury but still fin- ished his freshman year with 37 tackles in 14 games. Make no mistake, both of these standouts will see plenty of action. But which one emerges as the starter to replace Kiser will be the most important position competition beyond quarterback this spring season, and a player battle that will forge an early defensive identity for a return trip to the Col- lege Football Playoff. Point ✦ Counterpoint: ASIDE FROM QUARTERBACK, WHICH POSITION BATTLE ARE YOU WATCHING THIS SPRING? The record-setting performance that former Irish distance ace Yared Nuguse put together Feb. 8 in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games in New York City didn't necessarily hold up very long. But for Nuguse to add a world record — if only for a little bit — to his growing list of competi- tive accomplishments can only serve as a massive confidence boost while his fledgling professional career blooms. Nuguse, 25, posted a 3:46.63 in the New York mile to break a five-year-old indoor world record in the event. That's the good news. The bad news? Five days later, Norwegian rival Jakob Ingebrigt- sen ran a 3:45.14 at a meet in France to dethrone Nuguse, at least for the time being, as the fastest indoor mile runner in history. Also a bronze medalist at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics in the 1,500 meters, a silver medalist at the 2024 Glasgow World Championships in the 3,000 meters and a multiple-time NCAA champion while at Notre Dame (2017-22), Nuguse has par- layed his collegiate successes into what promises to be an elite professional career while competing for On Athletics Club in Boulder, Colo. Blue & Gold Illustrated caught up with Nuguse shortly after he set the world mile record to talk about his quick ascent on the international scene, and his time at Notre Dame. BGI: What did breaking the mile world record mean to you? Nuguse: "To be able to just conceptualize it in a sense of, 'That was the fastest anyone has ever run a mile,' it's just a really cool feeling. It feels like you are really pushing the limits of your sport. Do- ing something that nobody had ever done before was really cool." BGI: Was there a eureka moment in your career when you knew you could compete with anybody? Nuguse: "My first year as a pro in 2023 was what solidified it, getting to my first world championship and running a 3:43 outdoor mile that year. There were a lot of things that I did in 2023 that told me that I am definitely good at this sport and a con- tender to be one of the best in the world." BGI: How would you rate the quick start to your pro career? Nuguse: "I have definitely exceeded my expecta- tions. I did have a lot that I wanted to accomplish, and I was very excited to get into professional competition. But the success I've had during these last couple of years has been absolutely huge." BGI: And what has that early success done for your outlook? Nuguse: "Those successes just give you the con- fidence that you are at an elite level and you can compete with anyone else at this level. We always talk about how running is just a mental game. That confidence ingredient is really important." BGI: What did your time at Notre Dame mean to you? Nuguse: "Notre Dame was really important to me to not only growing as a runner but also grow- ing as a person. I was really able to come into my own and become the person that I'm proud of when I look in the mirror, thanks to Notre Dame." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME TRACK ALUM YARED NUGUSE Nuguse broke a five-year-old indoor world record in the mile, posting a time of 3:46.63 at the Millrose Games in New York City Feb. 8. Five days later, his mark was bested by Norwegian rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen (3:45.14). PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS OFFENSIVE LINE COACH JOE RUDOLPH LINEBACKERS COACH MAX BULLOUGH