Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 20, 2025 13 UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "So many former athletes, especially linemen like me, struggle with finding themselves when the lights dim. We're trained to be a certain way, to embody a certain physical and mental toughness, and when that structure is gone, a lot of us just flounder. We lose our identity, our purpose, and often, our health. "If my story, with all its messiness and vulner- ability, can reach just one other person who feels that same lostness, that same gnawing emptiness, and make them feel less alone, then it's worth it. "It's about turning the pain into purpose, trans- forming a personal hell into a guiding light for others. I want them to know that it's OK to fall apart, and it's even more powerful to put yourself back together, piece by piece, on your own terms." — Former Notre Dame offensive lineman Trevor Ruhland on the physical aftermath of his college football career, transcending an eating disorder, finding purpose in the working world and his ongo- ing relationship with football "There are stories about CJ Carr from last year. In the wee hours of the night, being caught on cameras inside the Notre Dame practice facility in there all by himself, working on footwork, ball handling — all the attention to detail, so he's go- ing to get his shot against Miami." — ESPN's Rece Davis on the College GameDay podcast "There's going to be days where you don't want to wake up and go to class, especially here. I feel like the best part about being here, being a college athlete, is that it pushes you in every aspect. You don't get to cheat the school side of things. "You just come every day, and put your best foot forward and choose hard." — Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore, speaking to a group of South Bend middle school students as the local face of the national Tackle Attendance outreach program "Step back from the quarterback discussion — a storyline that has been at the forefront of Notre Dame's offseason from the moment the Irish walked off the field after a national championship game loss to Ohio State in January — and there's a good case to be made this is Marcus Freeman's best team yet in South Bend. The offense has a su- perstar in running back Jeremiyah Love, the offen- sive line is exceptional, there's depth at receiver, the secondary is stocked with high-level talent led by Leonard Moore, and the front seven on defense has plenty of talent, if not a ton of experience. So, if Freeman has his quarterback, then there's every reason to think this could be another season with real national title aspirations." — ESPN's David Hale on redshirt quarterback CJ Carr potentially being the missing piece for the Irish "Denbrock, 61, probably won't appear on many of these lists because of his age. But he's still run- ning an offense at a higher level than just about anyone, and if he wants to try his hand at running a program, he should get a look. But he also has such a good job at the moment that he shouldn't consider jumping unless the situation is perfect." — On3's Andy Staples on Notre Dame's Mike Den- brock being among the power conference coordi- nators that could become a head coach next year PHOTO BY ALLEN KEE/ESPN IMAGES Irish On Social Media "Well, I haven't given him a hard time. I had a chance to watch a little bit of col- lege football [during Notre Dame's bye week]. And I saw a commercial pop up where he was wearing a Texas Longhorn shirt. So, I haven't given him crap for that yet. You know, Shane's an awesome human. I've got a chance to spend some time with him. Got a chance to talk to him. He's got a lot of notoriety just be - cause of who he is and the way he really performs his craft. "We appreciate the support. We ap- preciate him and the support he gives our program. So, it's always good to have somebody like Shane Gillis support your guys, and helps you in recruiting, I guess. Makes us kind of cool, I guess." — Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman on comedian SHANE GILLIS' role as a super fan and whether Free- man ever gives him advice on making sure he's representing the program the way Freeman wants it represented