Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 PRESEASON 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED than Bertrand and Kiser, though. He is a ferocious tackler who forced 3 fumbles in 2024. He frequently blows up blocks in the run game, opening opportunities for others. And he is athletic enough to take the next step from good to great. 5. S ADON SHULER If you're going to lose a back-to-back All-American like Xavier Watts to the NFL, you better have someone with am- ple experience staying at the back end of the defense. Sure enough, Notre Dame has that guy in Shuler. Shuler started all 16 games in 2024. He was fourth on the team in total tack- les with 59. He also had 3 interceptions, tied with Christian Gray for second on the team behind only Watts. Shuler recovered a fumble last sea- son. Forced a fumble. Blocked a kick. He does it all on defense and special teams. He's just a true junior, too, making it entirely possible his best football is still ahead of him. 6. DE BOUBACAR TRAORE With the injury to fellow edge rusher Botelho, Traore might be the player the Irish can least afford to lose. Presuming he regains his pre-injury form as he re- turns from a late-September ACL/LCL tear, the junior represents Notre Dame's best chance at a dominant pass rusher. In only five games in 2024, Traore picked up 5 tackles for loss and 3 sacks — both of which led the Irish for several weeks after he got hurt. He can bend the edge and convert speed to power like the elite edge rushers who pile up sacks on Sundays. If he stays healthy for a 13- to 16-game season, watch out. 7. WR MALACHI FIELDS Behold, the player who just might be the missing link in regard to what Notre Dame has needed to take its offense over the top. He's by far Notre Dame's biggest wide receiver target at 6-4, 222 pounds, a body type the Irish have been needing at his position. Fields had back-to-back 800-yard re- ceiving seasons at Virginia. He has 129 catches, 1,849 yards and 11 touchdowns in his career. The Irish have plenty of other reasons to be excited about the wide- out corps in 2025, including the return of juniors Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison, but the addition of Fields is abso- lutely the biggest potential game-changer for a first-time starting quarterback. 8. WR JADEN GREATHOUSE Fields and Greathouse are options 1A and 1B for Carr or Minchey. The order is open to interpretation, which is why they finished just four voting points apart. Greathouse is a popular national breakout candidate after his 13-catch, 233-yard, 3 touchdown combined per- formance in the Orange Bowl and CFP national championship game. Notre Dame's theory is that Great- house didn't do anything differently in those two games. The Irish believe they simply made a more concerted effort to get him the ball. If they're right, No. 1 is in for a massive 2025 season that could vault him into the NFL Draft conversation. 9. OT AAMIL WAGNER Wagner might still not be getting the recognition he deserves. A top-10 place- ment on this list is always an honor, but perhaps he should be knocking on the door of the top five. He's that valuable. Wagner is the only Notre Dame of- fensive lineman who started all 16 games in 2024. He wasn't just a body out there, Junior linebacker Drayk Bowen ranked third on the team last year with 78 tackles and also forced 3 fumbles. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP