Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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36 PRESEASON 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN X avier Watts was more of a rumor than contributor as a freshman wide receiver back in 2020. All 16 of his snaps that year came in a blowout of South Florida, and only three of those plays for the even- tual safety and two-time All-American were pass plays, none of which came in his direction. Actually, when sizing up greatness, freshman incubation as a rite of passage is fairly common at Notre Dame, not an outlier. Eight of the 12 most recent Irish consensus or unanimous All-Americans played seldom enough to get redshirt status, and five of them didn't play a single snap as a freshman. Which makes one of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman's favorite man- tra — delayed gratification — an easier sell to his current crop of first-year players. Well, theoretically. That's not to say Freeman is reluctant to play freshmen. But between strong player development/retention and key transfer portal pickups, the need to force a quickened timeline increasingly doesn't happen with regularity without an injury forcing it. In 2025, the Irish won't have a single freshman starter unless injury to an- other player or players is a factor. There are freshmen, among the 25 scholarship additions, in play to earn significant roles as well as those who would benefit from back-burner matu- ration, and some landing in the gray area in between. Here's the breakdown of how that's likely to play out this season. CLEAR PATH AND THE TALENT TO MAKE IT HAPPEN TE James Flanigan: The son of for- mer Notre Dame All-America defen- sive tackle Jim Flanigan — who did not redshirt, but did consider transferring to Michigan early in his career — is in a mosh pit of options at tight end beyond certain starter, senior Eli Raridon. Had junior Cooper Flanagan (no re- lation) been healthy to start the sea- son, Flanigan's audition for meaningful playing time might have been deferred. But the reigning Wisconsin high school state champ in the shot put and the dis- cus, enrolled in June two days after the state meet with urgency to improve his game but no preset expectations. WR Elijah Burress: Another NFL legacy recruit (son of NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress) impressed his team- mates in the spring as an early enrollee with both his speed on the field and speed in picking up the nuances of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock's playbook. Junior Jordan Faison figures to be the alpha at the field receiver position, with the primary backup role at that position and a spot in what's presumed to be a six-man rotation within reach for Burress. What might mitigate that breakthrough is if the Irish swing Wis- consin grad transfer Will Pauling be- tween the slot and field positions. LB Madden Faraimo: The uber- early enrollee filled a scout-team role during most of Notre Dame's College Football Playoff run and continued to build equity in the spring. There's no room to fit as a starter in 2025, but there is a spot in a five-man ro- tation if new defensive coordinator Chris Ash remains as committed to the concept as predecessor Al Golden was last year. The range of snaps from linebackers one through five in that rotation went from since-departed Jack Kiser at 641 to Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa's 343, which was tamped down a little by missing two games with an injury. It's reasonable to expect No. 5 in the rotation not getting quite as many in 2025, again if the rota- tion goes that deep. AHEAD OF THE DEVELOPMENT CURVE, BUT NO CLEAR OPPORTUNITY OT Will Black: The Canada native learned to swim at age 1½, was downhill skiing at age 2 and was participating and thriving in a handful of other sports by age 5, though not football. He didn't dabble in that until he enrolled in high school in London, Ontario. Even then Black was convinced his future was in hockey until he started to outgrow the sport, and then con- vinced his mom to let him move to a prep school in the United States at age 17 to chase his new passion for football and see where it could take him. He showed up at Notre Dame in June at 6-foot-7, 307 pounds and as only the second five-star in Rivals history (2002-25) to earn that status playing his high school ball in one of the New England states (Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn.). Black looked and acted the part this summer. That, and Charles Jagusah's Fourth of July weekend UTV accident cracked the door for Black to eventually end up in the two-deeps. That's likely the ceiling for 2025, es- pecially considering starters Anthonie READY FOR IMPACT? Projecting the 2025 paths for all 25 Fighting Irish freshmen James Flanigan, the nation's No. 7 tight end according to Rivals, has a chance to be in the rota- tion due to the injury to junior Cooper Flanagan. PHOTO BY MATT FREEMAN