Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 12, 2026 53 W ith Notre Dame's season under- way, in-game production joined practice execution as the pri- mary measuring sticks for Notre Dame football players. But the growth that happened for so many players this past offseason shouldn't be forgotten. Blue & Gold Illustrated puts a spot- light on six players who raised their stocks in the preseason. 1. DT Armel Mukam Mukam's rise from potential transfer portal departure to impact defensive tackle has been nothing short of impressive. He played just 69 defensive snaps and spent some time as a scout offensive lineman last season. Then Mukam made visits to Georgia Tech, Virginia and Northwestern in January before opting to return to the Irish. New defensive line coach Charlie Partridge led the recruit- ing pitch after defensive coordinator Chris Ash encouraged him to do so. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound senior el- evated his game with the help of Par- tridge. The Irish believe Mukam is bigger and stronger, but he's also playing with better technique and more confidence. "The thing that I liked about him is last year, even though he wasn't get- ting reps on game day, he was working extremely hard to help improve him- self and improve the team," Ash said. "Whether it's scout team, whether it's D-line, whatever it was, he was doing everything that we'd asked him. "And when you have a player that's big, that's strong, that's got a great at- titude and you know is going to work, sometimes it's just everyone's timeline is different. … He's put in the time, he's worked his tail off, and he's reaping those rewards right now." 2. CB Jayden Sanders When Notre Dame added Sanders, a sophomore, out of the transfer portal from Michigan, it wasn't an addition that came with an obvious need. Nor an obvious path to playing time in 2026. The Irish don't lack for young cor- nerback depth, but Sanders gained experience with 303 defensive snaps at Michigan last season. He's on track to gain more playing time this season, whether he's playing at field cornerback or nickel back. "He shows up every single day," Ash said. "He has a great attitude, he's coachable, and I'm really glad he's here on our team." 3. WR Matt Jeffery Most Notre Dame recruiting fans want to see junior Cam Williams get a chance to play a meaningful role in the Irish offense. Williams has bounced around at different wide receiver posi- tions on the Irish depth chart, but he found another competitor blocking his path as a field receiver this preseason. That's Jeffery, the 5-11, 195-pound, former preferred walk-on who came to Notre Dame primarily as a lacrosse recruit in the same recruiting cycle as Williams. Jeffery's impact wasn't felt as immedi- ately as former lacrosse teammate Jordan Faison in 2023, but he climbed the depth chart to be listed as Faison's backup. "He's twitchy," Notre Dame offen- sive coordinator Mike Denbrock said of Jeffery. "He's athletic, can get in and out of his breaks, has shown really solid hands, hasn't dropped many balls, has just been really consistent with his play and has put himself in a position to be in the rotation at some point." 4. OL Styles Prescod Midway through August, Prescod seemed like a lock to be Notre Dame's primary backup at both offensive tackle positions. But as the Irish struggled to find a firm answer for the right guard role, offensive line coach Joe Rudolph gave Prescod a chance to compete with senior Sullivan Absher for the job. The 6-6, 304-pound Prescod, who started to show signs of promise as a right guard candidate when the team scrimmaged to wrap up preseason camp, may have a future on the interior. "He's come a long way with his matu- rity about his approach to every practice and the consistency that he's been play- ing with," Denbrock said of Prescod. 5. DE Keon Keeley When Notre Dame reunited with Keeley, a former verbal commit who spent the past three seasons at Alabama, it brought more good feelings than guar- anteed success. As Keeley adjusted to Notre Dame's defense in the spring, he looked more like an unfinished product than a reliable contributor. But Keeley seems to have turned the corner in his development. He's in the role that was always most realistic for him to reach this fall as the primary backup to junior Bryce Young. "He's a different player now than what he was this spring," Ash said of Keeley. "He's still not where he wants to be or we want him to be, but he's a lot closer than he was in the spring. In the spring he was kind of like a lost dog a little bit. It was a big transition for him. There was a big learning curve from where he was to what we were doing." 6. S Joey O'Brien Expectations couldn't have been much higher for O'Brien, who came to Notre Dame ranked by Rivals as the No. 1 safety in the 2026 class. But his spring ended on a sour note with a left leg injury in the Blue-Gold Game. The setback could have prevented O'Brien from climbing the depth chart, but he balled out this preseason. That allowed him to leapfrog sophomore Ethan Long, who showed flashes of po- tential in blowout work last season. The 6-5, 200-pound O'Brien, per head coach Marcus Freeman, put in the work to make sure his length, size, speed and in- telligence translated at the college level. ✦ Sophomore cornerback Jayden Sanders made a strong case for playing time in the preseason. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Preseason Notre Dame Football Stock Risers Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES