Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543321
22 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY ERIC HANSEN F iguring out what the quarterback- ing safety net looks like for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Free- man will very likely be a process — and not an event. And not a short process, either, but an evolving one. The 15 spring football practices, spread over a little less than a month and a half in March and April, are about forming first impressions in that regard. That's in part because one of the viable candi- dates to be the primary backup/Plan B to incumbent starter CJ Carr — reclassified freshman Teddy Jarrard — does not even arrive until June. That still leaves a formidable spring to- do list for Freeman and his staff to tackle by the time the Irish stage the 95th Blue- Gold Game at Notre Dame Stadium on April 25 (2:30 p.m. EDT, Peacock stream- ing) to conclude the spring season. At least they won't have to deal with more roster churn, with this being the first offseason in the transfer portal era where there's no spring window for ad- ditional player movement. Here, though, are the six things Notre Dame should be prioritizing in March and April for a team likely to debut in the top five in the not-way-too-early pre- season polls, in August: GETTING THE NEW DEFENSIVE STAFF MOVING IN THE SAME DIRECTION A year ago, coordinator Chris Ash was the only new piece to plug in on a defen- sive staff used to predecessor Al Golden's ways and terminology — and success. A year later, he's the only coaching constant on that side of the ball beyond Freeman and some valuable behind-the- scenes analysts, such as de facto assis- tant linebackers coach Tre Reader. The good news for the Irish is there's strong familiarity between Ash and new defensive backs coach Aaron Henry, who also carries the title of pass game coordi- nator. The even tighter bond and overlap with new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge goes back decades. They and North Carolina State head coach Dave Doeren, in fact, have been connected at the philosophical hip dat- ing back to their early coaching days, even though the former college team- mates at Drake have been working in separate places more than together. That being said, every player on the Notre Dame defense will be experiencing a new position coach in 2026, and new linebacker coach Brian Jean-Mary will be learning right along with them. But he does have more than two decades of experience, including a few seasons as a defensive coordinator himself. As far as Ash himself is concerned, af- ter a turbulent start to the 2025 season and a trajectory-changing team meeting the day after Game 3 versus Purdue, the Irish defense surged. Notre Dame fin- ished 22nd nationally in total defense, 11th in scoring defense, 12th in rush de- fense and ninth in pass efficiency de- fense. And yet the offseason isn't about maintaining, but continuing that up- swing. So, there will be tweaks and mini-makeovers and new sub packages and personnel evaluation to maximize that improvement. Spring is the time to make sure the entire defensive coaching staff is in step with processing and teaching those structural and nuanced advancements to the scheme. FIGURING OUT THE BEST OPTION AT THE NICKEL POSITION It may seem like more of a back- burner detail than a flashing red alarm, but consider Notre Dame played with five defensive backs or more on roughly 75 percent of its defensive snaps in 2025. And for the first time in four offsea- son cycles, the Irish didn't fish a sea- soned veteran starter for the nickel po- sition out of the transfer portal, and will instead pick from among a strong menu of options — but largely unproven ones in that role. Senior Christian Gray could move in- side, and Colorado transfer DJ McKinney could take over at field corner. Another scenario would be to shift junior Leonard Moore, college football's best corner, out of the boundary and into the nickel spot against teams with elite slot receivers, as the Irish did against Southern Cal last October. There's sophomore-to-be Dallas Golden, a natural boundary corner who pitched in last season in the nickel role. Freshman cornerback Ayden Pouncey and freshman safety Nick Reddish are among the other options. How important is getting it right? 2026 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W SIX SPRING PRIORITIES Personnel decisions, schematic tweaks and a deep self-scout will shape Notre Dame's 2026 title push Sophomore-to-be Dallas Golden is among a plethora of options to fill Notre Dame's vacant nickel position. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER