Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 15, 2025 53 O ne of the first assignments I tackled when joining Blue & Gold Illustrated was one I'd done many times in the past. BGI staffers were asked to rank the top 25 most important Notre Dame foot- ball players for the 2025 season. Perhaps more fun — or painful — is re- visiting those lists during and after the season. Reflecting on the choices I made always helps me learn what to antici- pate from a coming season. Sometimes we know what we're talking about, and we look good. Sometimes the buzz we've heard doesn't come to fruition. Sometimes a wild guess can go in either direction. Two-thirds of the way through the season, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on my preseason top 25. Remember, this list is more than a talent evaluation. It's meant to rank the play- ers in order of importance to the 2025 team. Here are three good predictions, three I overrated and three I underrated. GOOD PREDICTIONS No. 4: DE Boubacar Traore — He has been Notre Dame's best defensive lineman and, arguably, the second-best defender behind cornerback Leonard Moore. Traore leads the Irish in sacks with 6.5 through eight games. He's totaled 30 tackles, including 8 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble and 4 quarter- backs hurries. No. 9: TE Eli Raridon — Finally healthy, he has lived up to the hype in his senior season. He was second on the team in receptions (24) and receiving yards (406) through eight contests. He's been the clear top tight end for Notre Dame and has played the vast major- ity of offensive snaps. He has had ups and downs as a run blocker, but he can be a real valuable asset when everything clicks. No. 18: DT Jared Dawson — He doesn't produce a lot of stats, but he's been an important presence in the middle of Notre Dame's defensive 1ine. He tallied 12 tack- les, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 a pass broken up and one quarterback hurry while seeing action in seven of the first eight contests. Honorable mention: No. 19 LT An- thonie Knapp and No. 21 WR Will Pauling. PLAYERS I OVERRATED No. 6: LB Drayk Bowen — He will probably finish the season somewhere around this ranking if he continues to play the way he did the past three games against No r t h C a ro l i n a S ta te , Southern Cal and Boston College. Bowen needed time to adjust to new de- fensive coordinator Chris Ash's game plans and n o t p l ay i n g a l o n gs i d e Jack Kiser. Through eight games, Bowen was first on the team in tackles with 50 after a 14-tackle effort versus the Eagles. No. 7: RT Aamil Wag- ner — His second season in the starting lineup prob- ably isn't launching him up NFL Draft boards. But more importantly for this ranking, he hasn't been a dominant force on the right side of Notre Dame's of- fensive line. Wagner gave up 6 pressures in the first seven games, per PFF, and his run block- ing hasn't been good enough to be Notre Dame's best lineman. No. 12: WR Jaden Greathouse — The momentum he seemingly found in the final two games of the 2024 sea- son didn't carry into 2025. Greathouse hasn't been close to being Notre Dame's best receiver this season, and his ab- sence the past four games with a ham- string injury hasn't cost the Irish any victories. Greathouse had 4 receptions for 73 yards in the first four games of the season. That's not enough to even merit being included on the top 25 this season — at least to this point. Honorable mention: No. 17 NB DeVonta Smith and No. 23 RB Aneyas Williams. PLAYERS I UNDERRATED No. 11: LG Billy Schrauth — He played the first seven games of the season like he belonged among the top five players on the team rather than outside the top 10. He was Notre Dame's best offensive linemen by a decent margin this season before going down with a sprained MCL in his left knee against Southern Cal after playing his best game of the year. No. 14: LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa — He has put himself in the conversation with Bowen for the Irish's top linebacker this season. His performance — 39 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass broken up and 1 quarterback hurry through — warrants a spot in the top 10 for the Irish through eight games. He can do so many different things for the Notre Dame defense. No. 15: RB Jadarian Price — He has nar- rowed the gap between himself and star junior Jeremiyah Love this season. He's not much of a threat in the passing game, but he makes up for that as a threat at kick returner. He recorded his second kickoff return touchdown of the season in the win over Southern Cal, and he surpassed 500 rushing yards on the season — 85 carries for 521 yards and 8 rushing touchdowns. Honorable mention: No. 25 WR Jordan Faison and unranked S Tae Johnson. ✦ Redshirt sophomore Boubacar Traore has been Notre Dame's best defensive lineman and, argu- ably, the second-best defender behind cornerback Leonard Moore so far this season. PHOTO BY NICK GRACE Reviewing My Preseason List Of ND's Top 25 Players Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES MY PRESEASON TOP 25 Rk. Pos. Player 1. CB Leonard Moore 2. RB Jeremiyah Love 3. QB CJ Carr 4. DE Boubacar Traore 5. S Adon Shuler 6. LB Drayk Bowen 7. RT Aamil Wagner 8. WR Malachi Fields 9. TE Eli Raridon 10. CB Christian Gray 11. LG Billy Schrauth 12. WR Jaden Greathouse 13. DE Bryce Young 14. LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 15. RB Jadarian Price 16. DT Gabriel Rubio 17. NB DeVonta Smith 18. DT Jared Dawson 19. LT Anthonie Knapp 20. LB Jaylen Sneed 21. WR Will Pauling 22. C Ashton Craig 23. RB Aneyas Williams 24. DT Jason Onye 25. WR Jordan Faison