Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538217
22 PRESEASON 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED that matters. It's not about a call. It's not about a scheme. It's about the mindset of the players, how fast and how violent they play, the fundamentals they play with. "The schemes and the calls are the calls. The fundamentals and our play style bring those things to life, and all that is very good right now here." 2. Identify A Safety Partner For Adon Shuler Notre Dame needs a starting safety to line up next to junior Adon Shuler after his breakout season. It doesn't have to be one player all season long. Ash is open to the idea, but he's not ready to put a number on what a safety rotation could look like. "You gotta trust guys back there," Ash said. "They're safeties for a reason. They're the last line of defense. They gotta be great fundamentally, be able to make plays in space, plays on the ball. But it's more about getting guys lined up and making adjustments as much as anything." Three safeties are best suited to contend to play with Shuler: graduate transfer Jalen Stroman, ju- nior Luke Talich and sophomore Tae Johnson. The youngest of the group made a strong impression with a pair of interceptions in Notre Dame's first preseason practice. Left Defensive End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 5 Boubacar Traore 6-4 250 Jr./3 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-2 255 Sr./1 10 Loghan Thomas 6-4 220 So./4 25 Preston Zinter 6-2 240 Jr./3 30 Dominik Hulak 6-4 245 Fr./4 12 Jordan Botelho^ 6-3 260 Gr./1 Nose Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 41 Donovan Hinish 6-2 277 Sr./2 93 Jared Dawson 6-1 288 Gr./1 59 Sean Sevillano Jr. 6-2 340 So./4 60 Davion Dixon 6-2 324 Fr./4 Defensive Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 97 Gabriel Rubio 6-5 321 Gr./1 47 Jason Onye 6-5 302 Gr./1 88 Armel Mukam 6-3 305 Jr./3 56 Elijah Hughes 6-3 300 Jr./2 17 Brenan Vernon 6-6 305 Jr./3 91 Gordy Sulfsted 6-5 260 Fr./4 Right Defensive End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 40 Joshua Burnham 6-4 260 Sr./2 95 Bryce Young 6-7 271 So./3 42 Cole Mullins 6-5 275 So./4 33 Christopher Burgess Jr. 6-4 275 Fr./4 94 Joe Reiff 6-5 258 Fr./4 Mike Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 235 Jr./2 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6-3 230 So./3 19 Madden Faraimo 6-2 235 Fr./4 43 Kahanu Kia 6-2 230 Jr./3 Will Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-2 230 Sr./1 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-2 228 Jr./3 36 Bodie Kahoun 6-2 230 So./4 35 Teddy Rezac 6-3 220 So./4 39 Anthony Sacca 6-3 240 Fr./4 45 Ko'o Kia 6-2 220 Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 15 Leonard Moore 6-2 195 So./3 14 Dallas Golden 6-0 187 Fr./4 18 Chance Tucker 6-0 183 Gr./1 Field Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 6 Christian Gray 6-0 190 Jr./2 20 Cree Thomas 6-1 189 Fr./4 24 Mark Zackery IV 5-11 175 Fr./4 Slot Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 DeVonta Smith 5-11 195 Gr./1 21 Karson Hobbs 6-1 189 So./3 Boundary Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 205 Jr./3 9 Tae Johnson 6-2 192 So./4 13 Ben Minich 6-0 197 Jr./3 31 Taebron Bennie-Powell 6-1 185 So./4 Field Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 28 Luke Talich 6-4 210 Jr./2 7 Jalen Stroman 6-1 201 Gr./1 11 JaDon Blair 6-5 205 Fr./4 22 Ethan Long 6-3 210 Fr./4 29 Brandon Logan 6-0 197 Fr./4 SPECIAL TEAMS Placekicker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 98 Noah Burnette 5-10 185 Gr./1 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 210 Fr./4 Punter No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 16 James Rendell 6-6 225 Gr./1 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 210 Fr./4 ^ Injured BGI'S PROJECTED 2025 NOTRE DAME SCHOLARSHIP DEPTH CHART FOR THE DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection for where Notre Dame's 2025 scholarship depth chart stood for the defense and special teams at the beginning of fall camp July 31. Sophomore safety Tae Johnson has traded in jersey No. 16 for No. 9, and he's pushing for playing time this fall. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER