Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544783
24 SUMMER 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER JAMES N ot long after the 2026 NFL Draft ended, the draft analyst industry started to release its long-term projections for the 2027 draft class. Big boards and mock drafts that are made almost a year in advance are bound to be inaccurate in so many ways. But they do provide a reflection of what the top players re- maining in college football have already accomplished, in addition to fueling ex- pectations through their projections. Most of the Notre Dame names men- tioned in those mock drafts and big boards are heading into their third sea- sons with the Irish, which will allow them to become draft eligible next year. Notre Dame's 2024 recruiting class has already produced major contributors for the Irish who could become first-round picks in next year's NFL Draft. Corner- back Leonard Moore, quarterback CJ Carr, linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu- Asa and safety Brauntae Johnson are the headliners who could be facing early exit decisions at Notre Dame next winter. Moore was inarguably one of the best cornerbacks in college football as a sophomore last season, which is why he received unanimous All-America sta- tus. Now, he could be one of the best defensive players in college football in 2026. "I think he's the best as far as the draft goes," college football and NFL Draft analyst Dalton Wasserman said. "I think he's the best corner that we've seen since we had that Derek Stingley/ Sauce Gardner draft [2022]. I think he would be well worthy. I'm going to be honest with you. If he was in this year's class, he might be the No. 2 overall pick. I think the Jets might take him at No. 2. He's that good. "I mean, you talk about length. He's got the size. He has the ability to play man-to-man and zone. This kid is spe- cial. He's absolutely special. I men- tioned Jeremiah Smith at receiver, but at least there's some other really good receivers. There's probably not a bigger gap between the No. 1 player at his po- sition and everybody else than Leonard Moore at cornerback right now." That Moore, who intercepted 5 passes last season, has more 2026 draft buzz than Carr, who is among the betting fa- vorites for the Heisman Trophy, speaks to how impressive Moore has been in his first two seasons at Notre Dame. Of course, Carr provided plenty of reasons to believe he's worth the hype. After a redshirt season dealing with an elbow injury in 2024, he made sure head coach Marcus Freeman didn't regret naming him the starting quarterback over Kenny Minchey, who transferred this winter to Kentucky after Carr's breakout season. Carr completed 66.6 percent of his passes (195 of 293) for 2,741 yards with 24 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions in his first 12 starts. "He just has a big-picture perspec- tive on the game," Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. "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." Viliamu-Asa established himself as one of Notre Dame's most valuable de- fenders last season because of his ability to impact the game in so many ways. He tallied 48 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 quarterback hurries, 1 intercep- tion, 2 passes broken up and 1 fumble recovery. All that's slowing down Vil- iamu-Asa from continuing his ascent in 2026 is his recovery from a torn ACL in his left knee that he suffered in Novem- ber last season. Johnson's breakout year may have been the most sudden on Notre Dame's roster. Not because he hadn't shown glimpses of potential last spring and in preseason camp, but because he couldn't crack the starting lineup to start the year. His emergence at free safety when he started the third game of season brought more playmaking to the Irish secondary while helping cut down the proliferation of big passing plays by opposing offenses. Johnson finished second on the team with 4 interceptions while Pro Football Focus graded him as the best tackler (91.0 grade) on Notre Dame's defense. The high-end talents who will take the field as juniors or redshirt sopho- mores for Notre Dame this fall have a lot to do with the championship-level expectations following the Irish into the 2026 season. Notre Dame needs to take advantage of those special players be- fore they're gone. LEADERSHIP ON THE LINE Mos t co l l e ge fo o tba l l p rog ra m s wouldn't consider removing a two-year starter from the left tackle position. But most college football programs haven't recruited offensive tackle prospects at the level of Notre Dame. That's why even though Anthonie Knapp has more than held his own as Notre Dame's starting left tackle for 27 of the 28 games the past two seasons, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph has ex- perimented with moving Knapp to left guard. The 6-foot-5, 304-pound Knapp welcomed the challenge and didn't view it as a demotion. "It's fun," Knapp said. "I just like to play football, I guess, so it doesn't really matter to me. It's been seamless, so I have fun out there." Knapp moved inside so Rudolph could see what redshirt freshman Will Black, who was a five-star recruit in the 2025 class, looked like in the No. 1 left tackle Quarterback CJ Carr has already lived up to expec- tations after one season as Notre Dame's starter. He threw for 2,741 yards with 24 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions in his first 12 starts. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER THREE AND OUT? Notre Dame's junior class possesses elite talents who might not be around much longer