Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 13, 2025 11 UNDER THE DOME 3 Pairs of brothers have been named captains in Notre Dame football program history. That number increased to its current total when redshirt junior nose tackle DONOVAN HINISH was named one of six captains for the 2025 season. His brother Kurt was a captain in 2021. The Golic brothers, Bob (1978) and Mike (1984), and Martin brothers, Zack (2012‑13) and Nick (2014‑15), have also been Notre Dame captains. 4 Notre Dame football players earned an initial rating of 90 overall or higher in EA Sports' College Football 26 video game. Junior running back Jeremiyah Love (95, tied for third) and sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore (93, tied for seventh) both ranked among the top 10 on their respective sides of the ball, while redshirt junior Aamil Wagner (91) was the fifth‑highest‑rated right tackle in the game and redshirt senior Malachi Fields (91) was the No. 9 wide receiver. Notre Dame was ranked No. 5 in the country with an 88 overall rating, which it shared with six other schools. Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Clemson and Texas A&M — whom the Irish face Sept. 13 in South Bend — were also rated 88 overall. Only Alabama (89 overall) earned a higher rating. Notre Dame scored well in both its offense and defense ratings, coming in eighth on offense at 89 and 11th on defense at 90. 6th Best Player in college football heading into the 2025 season is Notre Dame junior running back Jeremiyah Love, per FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt. "I'm not afraid to admit that I was late boarding the Notre Dame train," Klatt noted. "What I was really late to party with, though, was how dynamic of an athlete Love is. Notre Dame is great up front along the offensive line. It plays big‑boy football, and it pushed Georgia around in that College Football Playoff win. But Love is a running back that we haven't really seen at Notre Dame. … "Love gives Notre Dame the ability to compete at the top end of the sport. … I don't think we've seen the best of Love yet. He rushed for over 7.0 yards per carry and is a home run threat every time he touches the ball. Those types of running backs who can change the game with one touch are really special." 11 Irish players were predicted to be selected in the 2026 NFL Draft by ESPN's Jordan Reid, putting Notre Dame on an elite list of 12 schools. Penn State (13 predicted draft picks), Clemson (12), Oregon (12) and Texas (12) were in Tier 1; Alabama (11), Georgia (11), Notre Dame and Ohio State (10) in Tier 2; LSU (11), Arizona State (10) and Texas Tech (nine) in Tier 3, and Indiana as an "under‑the‑radar" school. All 11 potential future Irish pros were not identified, but running backs Jeremiyah Love (the team's top prospect and lone projected first‑rounder) and Jadarian Price, wide receivers Jaden Greathouse (the team's sleeper prospect to watch) and Malachi Fields, offensive linemen Aamil Wagner and Billy Schrauth, edge rusher Jordan Botelho, linebacker Drayk Bowen and cornerback Christian Gray were all mentioned. 40 Most important players in college football in 2025, per ESPN, included three Fighting Irish players: redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr, junior cornerback Christian Gray and sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore. Carr was included in the opening section "new starting quarterbacks for likely contenders," along with players such as Arch Manning of Texas, Gunner Stockton of Georgia, Ty Simpson of Alabama, Dante Moore of Oregon and Julian Sayin of Ohio State. "… Carr, a top‑40 prospect in 2024, brings quite the old‑school, pro‑style skill set to the table," ESPN's Bill Connelly noted. "Can he boost the Irish's upside enough to maybe actually win the national title game (while providing enough of a floor to get them back there)?" Gray and Moore were in the "pure transcendence potential" section, with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs of Ohio State, defen‑ sive linemen Peter Woods and T.J. Parker of Clemson, and wide receiver Ryan Williams of Alabama. "It was honestly incredible," Connelly added. "Notre Dame lost all‑world cornerback Benjamin Morrison to injury six games into 2024 and didn't miss a single beat because Gray and Moore — then just a sophomore and freshman, respectively — were so damn good. They finished the season having com‑ bined for 5 interceptions, 19 pass breakups and 3 forced fumbles, and Gray's spectacular interception of Drew Allar set up Notre Dame's CFP semifinal win. Just imagine if even just one of these two hasn't actually reached his ceiling." 49th Was where The Athletic ranked Notre Dame's CJ Carr out of all 136 projected starting quarterbacks in the Football Bowl Subdivision. That landed the Irish in Tier 4. Some are young, unproven start‑ ers with high potential; others are veterans who have flashed great talent but hit performance or injury speed bumps somewhere along the way. "He'll make mistakes as a first‑time starter," The Athletic noted. "How he handles those, along with the pressure that comes with being QB1 at Notre Dame, will be telling." — Tyler James ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER