Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 11, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Mitch Ferguson — Soccer T h e s e n i o r d e fe n d e r from Glen Carbon, Ill., na- tive recorded a hat trick in a 3-2 win over Wright State Sept. 23 in South Bend. In doing so, he became the first Notre Dame player to record a hat trick since soc- cer star turned Dallas Cow- boys placekicker Brandon Aubrey did it in 2016. Through nine games, Ferguson led Notre Dame with 4 goals and 8 points. Morgan Gaerte — Volleyball The sophomore outside hitter from Angola, Ind., re- corded a game-high 16 kills and added 5 digs in a 3-0 home sweep of Boston Col- lege Sept. 28 at Purcell Pa- vilion. This effort came one game after she recorded 19 kills — a career high in an ACC game — in a 3-1 loss to Syracuse Sept. 26 in South Bend. Through 10 games, Gaerte led the Irish with 175 kills and was tied for the team lead with 25 blocks. Ellie Hodsden — Soccer The sophomore forward from Dripping Springs, Texas, enjoyed a solid week with a goal — which turned out to be the game winner — in a 4-3 home win against No. 22 North Carolina Sept. 24 and then another goal in a 5-1 road win over Clemson Sept. 28. Through the first 10 games this season, Hods- den was third on the No. 2-ranked Fighting Irish in both goals (5) and points (10). Cole Knuble — Hockey The junior forward from Grand Rapids, Mich., was named to the Preseason All- Big Ten first team Sept. 25, in recognition of his breakout 2024-25 campaign. Knuble was the lone Irish all-conference honoree last season when he led Notre Dame with 39 points (12 goals and 27 assists) and averaged 1.15 points per game, the sixth- best mark in program history. His work earned him a 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award nomination. — Todd Burlage TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE It's not that Notre Dame freshman wide receivers have a rich history over the last two head coaching regimes of making significant statistical dents, much less starring. But heading into the fifth game of the Irish's season — Oct. 4 at home against Boise State — the most recent catch made by a freshman wide receiver came in calendar year 2023. That reception was snagged by current junior wideout Jordan Faison, a former walk-on and still a moonlighting men's lacrosse star. That catch came on a 13-yard touch- down strike from Steve Angeli late in the third quarter of Notre Dame's 40-8 Sun Bowl conquest of Oregon State Dec. 29 of that year in El Paso, Texas. Faison was named the bowl's MVP. For the season, Fai- son had 19 receptions for 322 yards and 4 touchdowns. That's the fifth-most receptions in a season by a freshman wide receiver in the combined Brian Kelly/Mar- cus Freeman coaching eras (2010-present). Another freshman wideout from that team, Rico Flores Jr., has the most receptions in that stretch (27) and the fourth-most among Notre Dame freshman wide receivers all time behind Michael Floyd (48), Duval Kamara (32) and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown (28). Flores didn't play in the Sun Bowl, instead transferring in December 2023 to UCLA following Notre Dame's regular-season finale. Flores missed the final eight games with the Bruins last season with a torn ACL. He made his delayed 2025 debut Sept. 27 in a 17-14 loss to Northwestern, with 4 catches for 43 yards. Only 13 freshman wideouts in the Kelly/Freeman eras caught more than two passes in their debut seasons, and only six have reached double digits in receptions. Jaden Greathouse, with 18 in 2023, just missed the top five. Two of Notre Dame's three current freshman re- ceivers — Scrap Richardson and Jerome Bettis Jr. — hadn't seen any game action in 2025 heading into the Boise State game. The third, Elijah Burress, played sparingly in lopsided wins over Purdue and Arkansas. — Eric Hansen CHARTING THE IRISH ON THE DEFENSIVE Maybe the biggest misnomer about building a sustainable defensive scheme, and a culture to go with it, on the college level of football is that it's akin to a one-piece jigsaw puzzle. The reality is the process is more like solving a Rubik's Cube. Over and over again. Even when you inherit elite talent. Early success or struggle can be misleading in terms of how things will look at the end of a first season of a defensive coordinator's regime. It's about constantly evolving, adjusting and counter-punching. Five of current defensive coordinator Chris Ash's Notre Dame predecessors showed dramatic improve- ment during their first season in charge of the Irish defense, all after modest or outright scary beginnings. The one that didn't — and had the Irish sitting at No. 4 in scoring defense nationally through his first four games — is the only one who eventually got fired at Notre Dame. That came four games into season No. 3, 2016, for Brian VanGorder. Among the other five, four eventually went on to be head coaches, and three still are — Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt) and current Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man. The fifth is an NFL defensive coordinator, Al Golden. Bob Diaco, who left to become the head coach at UConn in 2014, is currently the D- line coach at North Carolina under Bill Belichick. Can Ash show the same kind of learning curve after taking over for Golden? His unit made tangible strides in a 56-13 domination of Arkansas, which still ranks in the top 10 nationally in total offense. — Eric Hansen NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR LEARNING CURVES How Notre Dame's current and past six defensive coordinators' units ranked nationally among FBS teams in total defense/scoring defense four games into their first season as DC at Notre Dame, and at the end of those first seasons: Def. Coordinator Year TD/SD TD/SD Bob Diaco 2010 103/85 50/23 Brian VanGorder 2014 38/4 71/82 Mike Elko 2017 71/29 46/31 Clark Lea 2018 65/33 30/13 Marcus Freeman 2021 69/67 43/15 Al Golden 2022 57/66 21/38 Chris Ash 2025 96/98 ??/?? CATCHING ON EARLY The top five Notre Dame freshman wide receivers in receptions since 2010: Player, Year Rec. Yards TD 1. Rico Flores Jr., 2023 27 392 1 2. Kevin Stepherson, 2016 25 462 5 3. Lorenzo Styles Jr., 2021 24 344 1 4. TJ Jones, 2010 23 306 3 5. Jordan Faison, 2023 19 322 4 No Irish rookie wideout has caught more passes in the past 15 seasons than Rico Flores Jr. (27 for 392 yards and 1 score) in 2023. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER