Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 FEBRUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER JAMES N otre Dame football sent a Heis- man Trophy finalist to New York City in 2025 for the first time since 2012. Junior running back Jeremiyah Love certainly lived up to the expectations Blue & Gold Illustrated envisioned for him this past season. He was correctly voted as Notre Dame's most important player of the 2025 season in our pre- season rankings in July. The BGI staff also nailed redshirt freshman CJ Carr as the No. 2 most im- portant player on the roster prior to him winning the quarterback competition, even though redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey made us sweat a bit in August. We certainly missed on our share of rankings, too. The wide receiver posi- tion might have fooled us most. No. 8 was far too high for Jaden Greathouse, who only caught 4 passes in the four games he played as a junior. And No. 20 was far too low for Jordan Faison, who led the Irish in receptions and receiving yards in his junior season. Let's look back at all 25 players who made the cut. As a reminder, voters considered talent, impact, place on the depth chart and positional value but were told to place a premium on two key questions: 1) If you subtracted this individual from the roster, how much of a setback would it be? And 2) If this less proven player emerges and makes an impact, how much does it raise the ceiling (or lower it, if a breakout does not happen as expected)? 25. S LUKE TALICH Talich didn't end up being Notre Dame's No. 2 safety, as our preseason list suggested, but he probably earned a spot by the way he played as the Irish's third safety this season. Talich was used primarily on passing downs in special packages, and he had a knack for finding the football with 3 interceptions and 3 passes broken up. HITS AND MISSES Revisiting BGI's preseason ranking of Notre Dame's top 25 most important players Junior wide receiver Jordan Faison led Notre Dame in receptions (49) and receiving yards (640) in 2025. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER