Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 8, 2025 7 UNDER THE DOME Christian Gray Can Make The Secondary Elite Again By Tyler Horka Think about what Notre Dame has in its defensive backfield. That conversation has to start with sophomore Leon- ard Moore, a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist who many view as the best cornerback in all of college football. At the safety spots, the Irish have one of the most athletic players on the entire roster — and the entire field in any given game no matter who Notre Dame is playing — in redshirt freshman Tae Johnson. Think Xavier Watts' skill set with even more athleticism when describing Johnson. His running mate at safety, Adon Shuler, is a redshirt sophomore team captain who plays with the same sort of fearlessness that made Kyle Hamilton an All-American at Notre Dame and an All-Pro in the NFL. Aside from injury concerns with Alabama transfer DeVonta Smith at nickel, what's missing in the Irish secondary? A consistent complement to Moore at corner. Junior Christian Gray, if he plays his best with more regularity, can make this collection of Notre Dame defensive backs as good as it's ever been. And that's including the ones that boasted Watts, Hamilton, current Tampa Bay Buccaneers corner Benjamin Morrison and so on. It needs to be iterated over and over again that Gray isn't ever going to be Moore. But if he can be the best version of Gray, the one who has directly led to some of the biggest Notre Dame victories of the last two seasons, more than he's the lesser version of himself then this Irish team will truly have a chance to go on a similar College Football Playoff run as the one before it. Gray just has to be that guy. Boubacar Traore Powers Notre Dame's Pass Rush By Tyler James Navy has the only offense on Notre Dame's schedule in November that heavily relies on the running game. All the other offenses live and die with their passing attacks. That's why it will be important for Notre Dame to have a relent- less pass rush in the final month of the regular season. No individual player has meant more to Notre Dame's pass rush than redshirt sophomore defensive end Bou- bacar Traore. He accounted for 6.5 sacks in the first seven games of the season, which put him on track to become just the eighth Notre Dame player since 1973 to record at least 10 sacks in one season. Traore is looking to become the first to do so since de- fensive end Isaiah Foskey, who tallied 11 sacks in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Pro Football Focus credited Traore with 19 pressures in the first seven games with a win percentage of 15.8 on his pass-rush snaps. Both were team highs for regularly contributing defensive linemen. In addition to his sacks, Traore hit quarterbacks four times and hurried them eight times. Traore's ability to win one-on-one matchups on the outside allows Notre Dame to be creative elsewhere with its pass rush plan. The Irish need to be disruptive to opposing quarterbacks to make coverage assignments easier in the secondary. Traore hasn't been a slouch in run defense either. His 27 tackles ranked sixth on the team through seven games. Pro Football Focus credited him with 10 stops, which are defined as tackles that constitute failures for the offense, through seven games, which tied him for the team-high with sophomore line- backer Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa. Traore's presence on the defensive line will go a long way in helping the Irish attempt to finish the season without another loss. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHO WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE PLAYER IN NOVEMBER? Redshirt freshman quarterback CJ Carr has quickly become a fan favorite for Fighting Irish supporters. Why wouldn't it be that way? As of the end of October, he was still on pace to set the single-season program record for pass efficiency rating (166.77). So, might as well get right into it and get inside the mind of a potential record setter. Here are five questions with Carr. BGI: The broadcast loves to cut away to you on the sideline with the headset on. How vital are those moments of communication and what is happening during them? Carr: "It usually depends on how the series went. If we scored on the series, I'm ecstatic and it's an enjoyable experience. If maybe we didn't have our best drive, it can be a little less enjoy- able, but just being able to adjust on the sideline is huge and an important part of how we want to continue to attack defenses. And it will be for the rest of the season." BGI: Is offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock putting more on your plate with each passing week? Carr: "It just kind of depends on the game. I think there's a lot on a quarterback's plate as it is, and I want to handle as much as I can and as much as the offense needs me to handle. That's what's been going on with some of the run checks and the pass checks and the protections, and it's been good." BGI: You're from a family big on football. Is there any one of your family members that really got you to love the sport and has been your big- gest influence to this point in your career? Carr: "My dad growing up was, he coached me in baseball. He was an assistant coach. He coached me in football until middle school. And then in my going into high school he stopped coaching us a little bit and kind of wanted us to do our own thing, but he was secretly behind the scenes. "He was always still our coach. We would come home and he's getting us on the film and he's get- ting us on the tape and he's talking through our reads. And so he's probably had the biggest influ- ence on my football career in total, and I would not be where I am today without him." BGI: You didn't begin playing tackle football until seventh grade. Was it hard for you to wait that long? Carr: "It was because all my friends started playing in sixth grade, and so I'm sitting there in my favorite sport and I'm like, just let me play. And they're like, Nope, you're not going until seventh. And so I remember that sixth grade year, I was so sad. You go to your buddy's games, and they're all out in the field playing and you've just got to sit there and watch. "And then I told them, when my brother started getting to football and they were deciding, I said, you got to let him play in sixth grade. I think I was a step behind in seventh grade, and I didn't want to get hit, and I didn't want to tackle people, and so I told them, let Tommy have another year so he can get used to it a little quicker. But yeah, seventh grade was the age." BGI: You went home to Saline, Mich., for the bye week. Did you have to sign extra autographs now that you're the starter at Notre Dame? Carr: "A few. A few, but Saline is a great place, and I love everyone in that town, and they've supported me well. And to hear just the support that Notre Dame has in Saline, Mich., meant a lot." — Tyler Horka Five Questions With … REDSHIRT FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK CJ CARR Carr had a pass efficiency rating of 166.77 as of the end of October, which would be the all-time single-season record at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER GRAY TRAORE