Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE W ith three Pro Bowl selections, two All-Pro honorees, two Super Bowl champions and a Rookie of the Year candidate, the 2025 NFL season was full of success and headlines for former Irish players. With six 2026 Notre Dame rookies added to the collection on NFL rosters to start this campaign, expect even more Golden Domer moments this season. According to a list provided by ESPN.com Sept. 8, 41 former Irish play- ers landed on active 2026 NFL rosters. Those include 2026 first-round tailback Jeremiyah Love for Arizona and Jadarian Price in Seattle. Love was the No. 3 overall pick by the Cardinals in April. A month later, the St. Louis native signed a four- year, $53 million contract, the largest for a rookie tailback in NFL history. "With great power, comes great re- sponsibility," Love said after signing his lucrative deal. "In this instance, with a lot of money becomes a lot of trust, a lot of responsibility. With [Arizona] putting that much trust in me, I think I have a duty to give them a return on their investment." As both Love and Price are now com- peting together in the NFC West, these two friends and former teammates will play against each other at least twice every season. "It's going to be great getting to meet [Love] at the 50-yard line twice a year, you know, talk about old times," Price said. "We got a close bond. We spent the last three years together. And just seeing how we achieved our dreams, it's going to be awesome. I can't wait." All six of the 2026 Notre Dame draft picks made their teams' 53-man active rosters, including two third-rounders — wide receiver Malachi Fields with the Giants and tight end Eli Raridon with the Patriots — as well as offensive line- man Billy Schrauth, a fifth-round pick of the Buccaneers, and defensive line- man Gabriel Rubio, a sixth-round se- lection of the Steelers. Sticking with the youth movement, second-year Falcons safety Xavier Watts is back after finishing third in the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year voting last season. And offensive tackle Joe Alt re- turns for his third season with the Los Angeles Chargers after starting fast and even making the Pro Bowl last season be- fore being sidelined with an ankle injury. The list of former returning Irish NFL veterans is highlighted by ninth-year Colts guard Quenton Nelson. The six- time All-Pro selection was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons, and seems on the fast track for NFL Hall of Fame induction. Two-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley is back for his 11th sea- son with Baltimore. And ageless safety Harrison Smith returns for his 15th sea- son with the Vikings after the 37-year- old considered retirement in the offsea- son. And we'd be remiss not to mention Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton, a three- time All-Pro selection, who enters his fifth NFL season ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 returning safety in the league. LOOSE ENDS Interestingly, the starting placekicking job for the Indianapolis Colts this offsea- son came down to two former Irish kick- ers — Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader. In a tightly contested preseason com- petition, Shrader emerged as the winner after converting 5 of 5 field goals in three preseason games, including tries of 60 and 61 yards. Undeterred, Grupe landed the starting job with the Jets shortly af- ter being released by the Colts. Also of note, former Irish defensive linemen Howard Cross III and Isaiah Foskey were both cut by the Bengals, from a defense led by former Irish de- fensive coordinator Al Golden. How- ever, both players were added to the Cincinnati's practice squad. In addition, Browns linebacker Jer- emiah Owusu-Koramoah was placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list and will miss his second straight full season after suffering a se- rious neck injury in 2024, leaving his NFL future in doubt. ✦ FIGHTING IRISH HEADLINERS Yared Nuguse, (At Notre Dame 2017-22), Distance Runner, On Athletics Club The Louisville, Ky., native finished fifth in the highly competitive 1,500-meter race at the Diamond League Final on Sept. 4 in Brussels, Belgium. The U.S. Olympian, former world record holder and bronze medalist in the event at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics finished the star-studded Brussels race in 3:30.56, leaving him less than a half second behind race winner Cam Myers of Australia. Arike Ogunbowale (2015-19), G, Dallas Wings, WNBA During a four-game winning streak for Dallas from Aug. 20-30, the Milwaukee native averaged 24.7 points and 4.0 assists with only 1.0 turnover per game to keep the Wings firmly in the playoff hunt as the WNBA regular season winds down. The four-time WNBA All-Star's four-game stretch included a season-high 32-point performance in a 91-85 win over Indiana Aug. 20. Gabriel Rubio (2021-25), DL, Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL The 2026 sixth-round draft pick played well enough in the preseason to earn a place on the final 53-man opening-day roster for the Steelers. Playing extended snaps in Pittsburgh's preseason opener against Green Bay Aug. 13, the St. Peters, Mo., native gained quick attention with 6 tackles in a 28-9 win over the Packers. Former Irish Greats Primed For Another Big NFL Season I R I S H I N T H E P R O S Jeremiyah Love signed a four-year, $53 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals, the largest for a rookie tailback in NFL history. PHOTO COURTESY ARIZONA CARDINALS