Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 27 either. He was one of the Fighting Irish's best offensive players, period, at any position. He finished the year with an overall Pro Football Focus grade of 79.5, the fourth-best mark among any Irish player who logged at least 100 snaps on offense. He only trailed Love and quar- terbacks Riley Leonard and Steve Angeli. Good company. Great player. 10. TE ELI RARIDON Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has implored reporters to buy stock in Raridon this offseason season. He believes, with great conviction, that the 6-foot-7 senior is set for a huge year. The BGI staff agrees, ranking a pass catcher with just 16 career receptions in the top 10 (although he did finish 2024 strong). Raridon is also the starter at Notre Dame's thinnest position. If he goes down, the Irish have several options but none have proven anything at the college level. But if he stays healthy, he profiles as a security blanket with run- after-catch upside. Few archetypes are more helpful for a young quarterback. 11. OT ANTHONIE KNAPP Knapp would have joined Wagner as the only Notre Dame offensive line- men to start all 16 games of 2024 if he hadn't injured his ankle in the 15th. The only game he missed as a true freshman starting at left tackle was the national championship game. He got better and better as the season went on. Knapp's top-half inclusion in this ranking has much to do with offsea- son rhetoric on him from Notre Dame coaches; he earned high praise from both Marcus Freeman and Joe Rudolph. Knapp's their guy at left tackle. So, he was ranked here appropriately in re- sponse to that. 12. CB CHRISTIAN GRAY Highs (his pick six against USC and game-winning interception in the Or- ange Bowl) and lows (the rest of the USC game and the deep ball to Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith) defined Gray's first season as a starter. But before that day in Los Angeles, Gray hadn't really been touched in coverage. He seemed to lose some consistency down the stretch. If he gets it back, Gray's length, fluidity and ball skills give him one of the highest ceilings on the roster. If he reaches that ceiling, he and Moore would form the best cornerback tandem in college foot- ball. And if they do, Notre Dame might lead the nation in pass efficiency defense for the third straight season. 13. OG BILLY SCHRAUTH With Jagusah missing the first por- tion of the Notre Dame season, Schr- auth is probably the No. 1 pro prospect we'll see from the Irish until Jagusah re- turns. He's a perfect-sized guard at 6-4, 310 pounds. And he probably punches above his weight class at that; he's al- ways described as the mauling type. He won't back down from a nasty battle in the middle of the trenches. Hard to imagine this is already Schr- auth's senior season. He didn't start more than 80 percent of Notre Dame's games on offense in any of his first three years in South Bend. This could be the one he does. 14. LB KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA Viliamu-Asa has been ticketed for greatness since he signed with Notre Dame in December 2023. He was a ro- tational linebacker as a freshman; now he's gunning for a starting job. And if he reaches his potential in 2025, watch out. Viliamu-Asa is the total package. He can destroy blocks and wrap up ball car- riers in the run game, bend the edge as a pass rusher and carry slot receivers down the seam in coverage. His chal- lenge is consistency, but there's no rea- son he can't figure it out. We believe Viliamu-Asa will win the starting Will linebacker job, and he could make the Notre Dame defense extremely danger- ous to play against. Tight end Eli Raridon only caught 11 passes for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns a year ago, but is fully healthy headed into his senior season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER