Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2026 11 UNDER THE DOME ✦ BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER 3 Times in the 91-year history of the NFL Draft, a college has produced the first two picks at a position: Notre Dame had the first two quarterbacks (Frank Dancewicz at No. 1 overall and Johnny Lujack at No. 4 overall) in 1946, Tennessee had the first two offensive tackles (Charles McRae at No. 7 and Antone Davis at No. 8) in 1991 and Notre Dame had the first two running backs (Jeremiyah Love No. 3 and Jadarian Price No. 32) in 2026. In addition, Notre Dame joined 1987 Texas A&M (Roger Vick at No. 21 and Rod Bernstine at No. 24), 2005 Auburn (Ronnie Brown at No. 2 and Carnell Williams at No. 5) and 2008 Arkansas (Darren McFadden at No. 4 and Felix Jones at No. 22) in the "two running backs in one first round club." Love and Price became the first Notre Dame running back duo selected in the same draft since Jerome Bettis (No. 10) and Reggie Brooks (No. 45) in 1993. No. 4 Was where Jack Maloney of CBS Sports slotted Notre Dame star point guard Hannah Hildago in his way-too-early 2027 WNBA mock draft. "Hidalgo, who recently announced that she'll return to Notre Dame for her senior season, is a truly terrifying perimeter defender," Maloney noted. "She led the country in steals last season at 5.6 per game and had a triple-double with steals in the Sweet 16. Her defense and competitiveness alone will make her a top pick, but there are some questions about her size (5-foot-6) and inconsistent scoring outside of the paint at the next level." 13 Consecutive primary Notre Dame tight ends have been selected in the NFL Draft over the past 21 years, with Eli Raridon continuing the streak by being drafted 95th overall in the third round by the New England Patriots this year. Here is the full list of drafted Irish tight ends the last 21 years: Year Irish Tight End Pick (Round) NFL Team 2006 Anthony Fasano 53rd (2nd round) Cowboys 2008 John Carlson 38th (2nd) Seahawks 2011 Kyle Rudolph 43rd (2nd) Vikings 2013 Tyler Eifert 21st (1st) Bengals 2014 Troy Niklas 52nd (2nd) Cardinals 2015 Ben Koyack 229th (7th) Jaguars 2018 Durham Smythe 123rd (4th) Dolphins 2019 Alizé Mack 231st (7th) Saints 2020 Cole Kmet 43rd (2nd) Bears 2021 Tommy Tremble 83rd (3rd) Panthers 2023 Michael Mayer 35th (2nd) Raiders 2025 Mitchell Evans 163rd (5th) Panthers 2026 Eli Raridon 95th (3rd) Patriots 30-9 Record for the Notre Dame men's lacrosse program against ranked teams since the beginning of the 2023 season. Even more impressive is the fact that the Irish are 22-6 against teams ranked in the top 10 of the USILA poll at the time of the matchup during that stretch. This year, the Irish are 7-1 against ranked opposition and 5-1 against top-10 teams, including back-to-back wins against the No. 1 team in the country (Richmond and North Carolina in early April). 47.5 Points per game averaged by Notre Dame men's bas- ketball's three leading scorers — 63.8 percent of the team's season scoring average — during the 2025-26 season: point guard Markus Burton (18.5 points per game), forward Jalen Haralson (16.2) and guard Cole Certa (12.8), who were all lost to other schools via the transfer portal. +650 Odds for Notre Dame redshirt sophomore quarterback CJ Carr to be the No. 1 over- all pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, per BetMGM. Those are the third-best odds: Rk. Pos. Name, School Odds 1. QB Arch Manning, Texas +175 2. QB Dante Moore, Oregon +500 3. QB CJ Carr, Notre Dame +650 4. WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State +750 5. QB Julian Sayin, Ohio State +1100 "While Manning and Moore have better odds to be the No. 1 overall pick next spring, CJ Carr boasts the best odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2027," On3's Grant Grubbs noted. "And, if history has proven anything, it's not rare for Heisman Trophy winners to be the first name off the NFL Draft board. "Three of the last five Heisman Trophy winners were No. 1 overall picks. With one successful season as Notre Dame's QB1 under his belt, Carr could be next in line to be the first pick of the NFL Draft." +1100 Odds, per The Athletic's Andy Behrens, for Seattle Seahawks running back JADARIAN PRICE to be named the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year, following his first-round selection in 2026 draft. "Scouting reports on Price were something of a mixed bag leading up to draft night, but there's no arguing with his landing spot," Behrens noted. "Seattle was the dream scenario for every back in the 2026 draft class. Zach Charbon- net tore an ACL in January and Kenneth Walker relocated to Kansas City via free agency, replaced only by Emanuel Wilson on a modest one-year deal. The Seahawks are a deeply run-committed team, a fact that certainly won't change under new OC Brian Fleury, previously Kyle Shanahan's run game coordinator." 2016 Was the last NFL Draft in which Notre Dame had a skill posi- tion player drafted in the first round, before running backs Jeremiyah Love (No. 3 to the Arizona Cardinals) and Jadarian Price (No. 32 to the Seattle Seahawks) both went in the first round of the 2026 draft. In 2016, wide receiver Will Fuller was taken 21st overall by the Houston Texans. 45 , 308 Was the attendance at the 2026 Blue-Gold Game April 25, marking the second-largest crowd in the event's 95-year history. The larg- est crowd was the gathering of 51,852 that took in the "Junior Jabbie MVP game" in 2007.