Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2025 21 who might end up being a true WR1, the likes of which South Bend hasn't seen in at least a handful of seasons. Virginia transfer Malachi Fields might have something to say about that when he enrolls at Notre Dame this summer, but in the spring it was all Greathouse, all the time, and rightfully so. "He's looked really good, man — re- ally good," Notre Dame wide receivers coach Mike Brown said. "He's continu- ing to get better. He's continuing to un- derstand things more. He's growing a lot as a leader, which is great. And so I'm very, very pleased with where he is at and … where he's headed." Lastly, at tight end, all signs finally point to Eli Raridon being the player many thought he'd be right away until two knee surgeries in a calendar year and waiting his turn behind Michael Mayer and Mitchell Evans slowed his development down. No knee ailments. No Mayer. No Ev- ans. It's very possible 2025 is the year of Raridon. There is nothing or nobody standing in his way but himself. Sort of scary? Sure. Not panning out is always a possibility. But so is truly breaking out, and that's way more fun to lean into. "Eli's got a chance to become one of the really good ones here," Notre Dame offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Mike Denbrock said. "Incredible size, good movement skills, toughness. I really like where he's heading as a player. It's been nice, because him now getting through the season mostly healthy last year kinda helped him build confidence that, 'Hey, I'm OK to do this again.' And do it at a high level. He's just gonna con- tinue to climb." ✦ Junior Wide Receiver KK Smith Whether or not Smith ever does truly break out, the Will Fuller comparison Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock slapped on him on Sept. 17, 2024, will forever follow him. If you don't remember it, it's worth recalling. "KK is an up-and-coming talent that we've got to utilize," Denbrock said. "I think he can stretch the field. I think he can break people down. He reminds me of a young man who played here a few years ago that ended up with the Texans." Fuller had 76 catches for 1,094 yards and 15 touchdowns in his sophomore season at Notre Dame. Smith? Three for 38. No scores. If he really is Fuller-like, he ought to put up Fuller-like numbers; 62 receptions, 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. Now's the time. Junior Offensive Lineman Sullivan Absher Sometimes when an offensive lineman is a little aimless and his future is not certain, a coaching staff sticks that player at center in the meantime to make use of him while other positions are occupied by others. Well, Absher played some center this spring. But it wasn't a "nowhere else for him to go" type of thing. For Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph, it was more of a "we need to get the most out of this guy because he's really good" type of thing. If anyone will push for playing time on the interior of the offensive line at posi- tions that seem set in stone because incumbents or immensely talented players have the fast track to starting jobs, it'll be Absher. "His battle right now is just consistency," Rudolph said. "We're trying to give him every opportunity to compete and get out there. He will. There's no ques- tion he's going to play a lot of ball here." Freshman Tight End James Flanigan We've yet to see Flanigan in a Notre Dame uniform; he's a summer enrollee. There's no denying the Irish are thin at the tight end spot, though. Eli Raridon is in the cat bird's seat to take the torch for Mitchell Evans and become the team's TE1, but he's not a given to produce at the standard Evans set. Neither is anyone else in the room, from sixth-year senior Kevin Bauman to Arkansas transfer Ty Washington and junior Cooper Flanagan to sophomore Jack Larsen. There's not a longstanding history of pedigree between that quartet. Sometimes it takes a game-changing freshman to come in and revitalize a unit — or to at least take it over the top. Think Michael Mayer. Is Flanigan the next Notre Dame player of that caliber? He could be. Freshman Wide Receiver Elijah Burress It feels a little cheap to put two first-year players on a breakout list because, typically, breaking out entails being much better one year in a program than you were the year before. Obviously, Flanigan and Burress weren't even at Notre Dame last year. But they are now, and it's impossible to ignore every- thing that's being said about the latter in particular. Some guys just have "it" and break out — which "breaks" the unwritten rules of the breakout players list — from the very beginning. "I started watching him every day," sophomore corner Karson Hobbs said, "and the way he runs his curl routes, he's able to get out of his breaks in his one step. Literally one step. Very efficient in movement. He has a really nice dig route to him. And he's got good release game, too." "His IQ is already up there from his high school ball," junior wide receiver Jordan Faison added. "He comes out here and he shows it on the field. He's a young guy making plays. He's a playmaker." Senior Quarterback Steve Angeli Yep. We're doing it. We're putting Angeli in this space. And if he makes us look good by winning Notre Dame's starting quarterback job and holds on to it for the better part of it his senior season, he'll have broken out indeed. The breakout to this point has been impeded by transfers. First, Sam Hart- man. Then, Riley Leonard. Angeli wasn't ever going to start over either of those veterans, and as a result he's only attempted 80 passes in his collegiate career through three seasons. Everything has been building toward this year for him, though, and at the very least he's absolutely a candidate to enjoy a true breakout campaign. "He's approaching it like his job, and I wouldn't expect anything different," Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli said. "He's a guy with experi- ence. He's gonna approach it like it's his job to lose." — Tyler Horka Five Potential Breakout Players On Offense Freshman wide receiver Elijah Burress, the son of former NFL standout Plaxico Burress, generated plenty of buzz this spring with an advanced all-around game. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER