Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546068
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2026 15 UNDER THE DOME Irish On Social Media You need to go back more than 30 years to the Lou Holtz era for the last time Notre Dame produced 10 draft picks in a single class. There is at least a decent chance the Irish could reach that mark in 2027. The Irish secondary might be the best in all of college football. Leonard Moore should finish with one of the highest grades I've ever given a cornerback — he is a slam-dunk top-10 pick. Tae Johnson looks like an early-round safety, and defensive backs DJ McKinney, Christian Gray and Luke Talich are also NFL-level players. "Among the Irish seniors, wide receiver Jordan Faison and linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaylen Sneed have preliminary draftable grades from NFL teams. I haven't scouted all of Notre Dame's un- derclassmen yet, but QB CJ Carr will be a draft pick whenever he jumps to the NFL. Edge rushers Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young have the talent to announce themselves as top-50 prospects this season. And junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu- Asa is an exciting player who should only continue to rise throughout the process. "This program will be well-represented in the NFL Draft over the next few years." — The Athletic NFL Draft analyst Dane Brugler 5 Notre Dame players made On3's list of the top 100 college football players for the 2026 season: junior cornerback Leonard Moore at No. 3, offensive lineman An- thonie Knapp at No. 23, defensive end Bouba- car Traore at No. 39, linebacker KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA at No. 72 and quarterback CJ Carr at No. 85. Indiana and Oregon led the way with eight players each on the list. Texas, Georgia and Texas Tech were next with six apiece, followed by Notre Dame, Miami and LSU with five each, and Oklahoma and Ohio State with four apiece. 3rd Was where CBS Sports ranked Notre Dame's secondary among the best position groups in col- lege football for the 2026 season. Ohio State's receiving corps and Oregon's defensive line were Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. CBS Sports also tabbed the Fighting Irish's front seven (defensive linemen and linebackers) the fifth-best in college football and their offensive line as the sixth-best. CBS Sports' Top Position Groups For 2026 1. Ohio State wide receiving corps 2. Oregon defensive line 3. Notre Dame secondary 4. Texas wide receiving corps 5. Indiana offensive line 6. Ole Miss backfield (QB and RB) 7. Georgia linebackers 8. Miami backfield (QB and RB) 9. Texas offensive line 10. Alabama secondary 3-5 Record (.375 winning percentage) for Marcus Freeman in Games 1 and 2 during his first four sea- sons as Notre Dame's head coach. The Irish have wins over Navy (5-7 final record that season), Ten- nessee State (6-5) and Texas A&M (8-5), plus losses to Ohio State (11-2), Marshall (9-4), Northern Il- linois (8-5), Miami (13-3) and Texas A&M (11-2). The three wins came against teams that finished with a combined record of 19-17 (.527), while the losses came against five squads that produced a combined mark of 52-16 (.765). In the rest of Freeman's time in charge since the start of the 2022 campaign, the Fighting Irish are 40-6 for an .870 winning percentage. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER