Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 NOV. 8, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: NAVY NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE Navy's run defense hasn't been its issue, ranking 36th nationally with 3.51 yards per carry against. Here's the problem, though: The top non-option rushing efficiency team the Midshipmen have de- feated is Temple at No. 47. More to the point, Navy has not faced a single Power Four team and certainly not one with a rushing attack as strong as the Irish. Notre Dame is a "pick your poison" offense, and Southern Cal found out the hard way that choosing to defend the pass is probably not the best idea. Star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price rushed 37 times for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Trojans, whose front six had a bad time against Notre Dame's gap scheme- heavy offense. Navy has a few solid run defenders, starting with senior defensive tackle Landon Robinson. Despite being undersized at 6-foot, 287 pounds, Robinson will play on Sundays and already has 37 tackles this season. He has 12 run stops (tackles that result in a failure for the offense), which is third on the team behind sophomore linebacker MarcAnthony Parker and junior defensive tackle Griffen Willis. The matchup against Willis (who is also under- sized) and Robinson would be easier for Notre Dame if it had any of its preseason projected start- ing interior offensive linemen, but of course, it does not. This is a big game for Sullivan Absher, Joe Otting and Guerby Lambert against two quick, scrappy players. If they handle business, a relatively young sec- OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. X-WR 82 Nathan Kent 6-3 180 Sr. or 86 Joshua Guerin 6-1 180 Jr. LT 73 Sean Crowley 6-4 293 So. 65 Connor Heater 6-3 275 So. LG 68 Ben Purvis 6-3 300 Sr. 69 Cam Nichols 6-1 288 Jr. C 69 Cam Nichols 6-1 288 Jr. 63 Toran Smith 6-2 277 So. RG 79 Hoke Smith II 6-3 317 Jr. 69 Cam Nichols 6-1 288 Jr. RT 50 Malcolm Johnson 6-6 278 Fr. 66 Jaylin Acevedo 6-4 310 So. TE 83 Cody Howard 6-2 231 Sr. or 85 Jake Norris 6-3 230 Jr. Snipe Z 22 Eli Heidenreich 6-0 206 Sr. 23 Charles Robinson 6-0 179 So. QB 11 Blake Horvath 6-2 195 Sr. 5 Braxton Woodson 6-3 215 Jr. Snipe A 24 Brandon Chatman 5-9 174 Sr. 26 Michael Barrow 5-7 190 So. RB 46 Alex Tecza 6-0 199 Sr. 8 Jackson Gutierrez 6-0 207 So. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 90 Julien Moutome 6-3 263 So. 91 Chreign LaFond 6-5 262 Sr. NG 96 Landon Robinson 6-0 287 Sr. 94 Xavyer Arrington 6-0 279 So. DT 95 Griffen Willis 6-1 273 Jr. 98 Kendall Whiteside 6-2 280 Sr. OLB 35 Luke Pirris 6-4 217 Sr. 49 Adam Klenk 6-2 215 Sr. OLB 14 Jaxson Campbell 6-0 202 Sr. 0 Kenneth McShan 6-1 207 Sr. LB 58 Coleman Cauley 6-1 233 Jr. 39 Job Grant 6-2 223 Jr. LB 56 MarcAnthony Parker 6-0 218 So. 52 Nolan McCamy 6-2 212 Jr. CB 3 Ira Oniha 6-1 183 Jr. 28 Bryce Allen 5-11 181 Jr. S 18 Phillip Hamilton 5-10 175 So. 13 Andrew Duhart 5-10 185 Sr. S 16 Giuseppe Sessi 5-11 204 Jr. 2 Maxwell Williams 6-0 205 So. CB 17 Justin Ross 6-2 185 So. or 28 Bryce Allen 5-11 181 Jr. SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. PK 17 Nathan Kirkwood 6-2 174 Sr. 95 Justin Welch 6-2 190 Fr. KO 99 Lance Gossett 6-1 200 Jr. 11 Jacob Carlson 5-10 190 So. P 11 Jacob Carlson 5-10 190 So. 99 Lance Gossett 6-1 200 Jr. LS 92 Rayne Fry 6-2 196 Jr. 98 Landon Purcell 5-11 205 Fr. H 11 Jacob Carlson 5-10 190 So. 8 Jackson Gutierrez 6-0 207 So. PR 24 Brandon Chatman 5-9 174 Sr. 22 Eli Heidenreich 6-0 206 Sr. KR 25 Isaiah Bryant 5-9 165 Jr. 20 TK Hodges 5-9 190 Jr. NAVY MIDSHIPMEN TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART Senior nose guard Landon Robinson was Pro Football Focus' top-graded pass rusher (89.9) among FBS interior defensive linemen entering Week 10. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY ATHLETICS