Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544292
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL/MAY 2026 9 UNDER THE DOME Will Black May Force His Way Into Starting Role By Tyler James That Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Ru- dolph is even willing to consider moving two-year starter Anthonie Knapp from left tackle to left guard for his junior season speaks volumes about the high expectations for redshirt freshman of- fensive tackle Will Black. The Irish started spring practices with Black, a five-star recruit in the 2025 class, as the No. 1 left tackle with Knapp testing himself at left guard. Early returns suggested Black could make the move permanent so long as he continues to stay on track with his potential. Even though Knapp will likely need to move to the interior to maximize his NFL career, that doesn't mean Rudolph needed to move him. But if someone like Black can be even better than what Knapp was at left tackle, it's a switch that could benefit the entire offense. How Black fares with continued tests at left tackle will almost certainly deter- mine if the move was the right one. The 6-foot-7, 316-pound Black possesses the traits you want to see from an elite left tackle. He moves incredibly well for his size. His length can allow him to keep defenders under control. He's strong enough to move defensive ends off the line of scrimmage. So long as Black manages to play with good leverage and technique, he can become the ideal combination of dominating run blocker and impen- etrable pass blocker. He doesn't have to become that right away in 2026, but his potential to develop into that may make it hard to keep him off the field. The Runway Is Clear for Nolan James Jr. By Tyler Horka It made sense for Notre Dame to invest Saturday running back reps almost exclusively in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price last season. Love is a surefire first-round NFL Draft pick, and Price might sneak into the first round himself. When you have two running backs of their caliber, why use a third? Well, they're gone now. And Notre Dame will need to figure out a playing time distribution that makes sense for the personnel it has. It doesn't have to be the top two and nobody else anymore, and that leaves a lot of room for Nolan James Jr. to work his way onto the field. As it stands, James is the healthiest of the three returning tailbacks from last year's Notre Dame roster. Junior Aneyas Williams is coming back from offseason elbow surgery. Redshirt sophomore Kedren Young isn't fully healed from ACL surgery last August. James is full-go, and he's getting better day by day in spring practices as a result of his availability. It's not just an availability being his best ability type of thing with James, though. The Irish coaching staff really likes what he brings to the table regardless. He'll be tough to leave out of offensive game plans. Head coach Marcus Freeman called him a powerful jitterbug. "He's got great vision, great feel, he's tough," Freeman said. "He comes from a wrestling family, so I like that. But he is a really good player, and we noticed that last year. When he got his reps in practice or even in the games, we said, 'Nolan James is gonna be a good player,' and he's showing it right now." There will be plenty more to say about him when he breaks out this fall. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH REDSHIRT FRESHMAN IS MOST LIKELY TO HAVE A BREAKOUT 2026 SEASON? Blue & Gold Illustrated caught up with Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli this spring to get the latest on incumbent starting quarterback CJ Carr and his thoughts on how the younger signal- callers who are vying to be Carr's backup are faring in advance of the Blue-Gold Game April 25. Here's what Guidugli had to say. BGI: How much more advanced is CJ Carr looking in the spring? Guidugli: "He just has a big-picture perspective on the game. I've been around some really good ones, and just his ability to piece things together of what's a good play versus a bad play is just unique. And for him just to be going into a redshirt sophomore year, unbelievable. "So, we'll count on him to do a lot of that stuff. He's already doing some of that in spring ball and, more times than not, he's putting us in a really good situation and makes us so much better as an offense when you've got a guy out there that can just run the show." BGI: How do you make sure Carr isn't trying to do too much? Guidugli: "I think some of mine is just like, 'Hey, you don't have to be perfect. We don't need you to make — the job he did last year was phenomenal. We need CJ this year just to be a great leader. And if he can perform the same way he did last year, great. He doesn't need to do something above and beyond what he was doing last year." BGI: Where is Carr in terms of the leadership aspect? Guidugli: "What's cool is CJ has the ability to touch everybody in the locker room. Like, there's a relationship. Defensively, offensively, there's a re- lationship involved with everybody. And when you have that, you can confront people when they're wrong and demand that they do it right, because you're coming from a place where there is a rela- tionship there." BGI: How different will Carr's job be without run- ning backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price? Guidugli: "I don't know how much differently they'll give us looks, and I think we're going to have really good backs and we've got a really good offensive line that's well coached. I think teams still have to prepare for us the same way and come out and stop the run first." BGI: Where do Blake Hebert and Noah Grubbs come in as far as operating the offense goes? Guidugli: "My expectation for them this spring is: Let's get through spring ball. I want you guys to understand defensively, are they in man or zone, in the pre-snap? I want you to be able to adjust our protection schemes, and I want you to be able to execute our offense. "And the things CJ is doing [changing plays], we're not going to put that on your shoulders yet. We've got to get a base, funda- mental understanding of our offense and see you guys go execute that before we get into changing plays and tapping plays out and all the things that eventually come with responsibility to be the quarterback of this offense." — Tyler Horka Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME QUARTERBACKS COACH GINO GUIDUGLI BLACK JAMES JR. Guidugli is working with the same starter from the prior year for the first time during his tenure with the Irish. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER