Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546494
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 12, 2026 11 UNDER THE DOME THEY SAID IT THEY SAID IT "He may be the most confident kid I've ever been around. And that's rare. The kid earned the right to play, and that's what we like about him." — Notre Dame running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider on junior running back ANEYAS WILLIAMS "O'Brien ranked No. 47 on the SC Next 300 with his rare combination of length, ball skills and in- stincts at safety. His frame and overall game should remind Irish fans of Kyle Hamilton. Though an ankle injury slowed him this spring, O'Brien is expected to be fully healthy this fall. His football IQ matches his physical traits." — Billy Tucker of ESPN on including Notre Dame safety Joey O'Brien on his list of 51 freshmen poised to make an impact on the 2026 college football season "You have to be a shark; you have to keep mov- ing. Sharks stand still, they die. We have to be aggressive and progressive. We have to try to stay a step ahead of the game." — Notre Dame athlet- ics director Pete Bevacqua on Notre Dame's jersey patch deal with SoFi (via The Athletic) "I'd like to play Notre Dame. They ought to come to our place twice, and we'll go there once, since they're not in a conference." — Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti "If they played in the SEC, I think I'd pick them to win the SEC this year. And I say that because it'll stir some people up where I'm from. But I also say it because people are going to mistakenly look at their schedule and discount them. This is a team that could stand up against any schedule in the country this year." — Josh Pate of On3 on Notre Dame during an interview on Colin Cowherd's FOX Sports radio show "The offseason reports around Carr have been impossible to ignore, and I'm buying into the hype. I saw more than just flashes last year in between handoffs to a stellar duo of backs, but he'll be shouldering more of the offense this year. He's ready. His mental processing on top of his physical attributes have everyone raving. And the schedule doesn't hurt: Only three preseason coaches' poll top-25 teams are on the schedule, and two — Miami and SMU — are night games at home. See you in the Playoff, CJ. And probably New York City." — David Ubben on taking Notre Dame junior quarter- back CJ Carr with the first overall pick in The Athletic's Heisman Trophy draft "You rarely see a corner- back duo this ridiculous at the college level. Despite each missing two games last season, Moore and Gray combined for 7 inter- ceptions and 20 pass break- ups and allowed a QBR of 25.8. Moore is more active in run defense and allowed an unreal 8.1 QBR — he's the marquee name. But as a duo, they're unfair. You'd better not ever have to pass on Notre Dame." — Bill Connelly of ESPN on includ- ing the Notre Dame cornerback duo of Leonard Moore and Christian Gray in the "pure transcen- dence potential" category on his list of the 40 most crucial players for the 2026 college football season "At some point, potential must become impact for Keon Keeley, and that point is now. He'll be in the early rotation at edge rusher for the Fighting Irish, but isn't going to see significant snaps un- less he proves he can be a reliable, every-down factor for the first time in his career. Keeley could further bolster this defense if he becomes a dis- ruptive edge presence. If not, his career will be remembered far more for projection than perfor- mance. Keeley had 3 sacks last season at Alabama, a career-best from the No. 3 overall player in the 2023 recruiting cycle." — Brad Crawford of CBS Sports on ranking Notre Dame edge Keon Keeley No. 10 on his list of college football's 25 biggest boom-or-bust players for 2026 "The grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr showed a ton of promise last season. He's a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite for a loaded Notre Dame team that has a good chance of finish- ing the regular season 12-0. He's an early mock- draft darling. If you're still not convinced, he went No. 1 in The Athletic's Heisman snake draft. It is fair to wonder how much it meant to have Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in the backfield with him a year ago, and how much he'll miss that pair of first- rounders this season. But he might be ND's best quarterback since … Brady Quinn 20 years ago?" — Joe Rexrode of The Athletic on including Notre Dame junior quarterback CJ Carr on his list of col- lege football's 25 most interesting people of 2026 PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Irish On Social Media