Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 SEPT. 26, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Devin Fitzgerald Is What They Look Like By Jack Soble On Sept. 12 against Rice, Devin Fitzgerald caught his first pass in a Notre Dame uniform. It will not be his last. After the catch, Fitzgerald sized up the safety in front of him and made him miss. An Owls linebacker tried to pursue him from the middle of the field, and he juked him out of his shoes. Fitzgerald caught a 4-yard pass and turned it into a 20-yard gain because he's extremely savvy with the ball in his hands and knows how to smoothly transition from receiver to runner. Where do you think he gets that from? Fitzgerald, of course, is the son of Larry Fitzgerald, a Pro Football Hall of Famer. Much like his dad, the younger Fitzgerald is not a speed burner but knows how to get open and is dynamic after the catch. Reporters saw that for the first time in spring practice, when he took a slant more than 50 yards to the house — again, much like his dad did in Super Bowl XLIII. I'm not saying that Devin Fitzgerald will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I am saying, however, that he looks like a dynamic boundary receiver who can beat press-man coverage, make contested catches and make things happen with the ball in his hands. Jerome Bettis Jr. and Elijah Burress both looked great against Rice. So did Micah Gilbert, who is the current starter. But from everything we've seen since Fitzgerald enrolled in January, I believe his ceiling is higher than any other (healthy) boundary receiver on Notre Dame's roster. Bubba Frazier Will Find The Fast Lane To Greatness By Eric Hansen Several of Notre Dame's best receivers of the past two coaching regimes did not necessarily flash as freshmen. So, when it comes to identifying the wide receiver from the cur- rent freshman/sophomore classes who will go on to have the best Irish football career, there's a voice in the back of my head nagging me to type the name Kaydon Finley. But there's a louder one that tells me it's going to be Bubba Frazier. Collectively, heading into the Sept. 19 retro rivalry game with Michigan State and the nation's No. 77 pass efficiency defense, Frazier and Finley had amassed 0 catches and 9 reps on offense, all of them belonging to Frazier. For me, the 5-foot-10, 185-pound slot receiver from Savannah, Ga., emerges among the seven possibilities because he already possesses two im- portant traits, and a third factor — opportunity — should emerge next season. For now, QB1 CJ Carr estimates that Frazier may be the fastest receiver on the team by some measure, with senior Jordan Faison also in the conversa- tion because of his ability, as Carr put it, to "catapult himself" — per Carr — and blurring the line between the two blurs. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, meanwhile, calls Frazier's top gear "crazy speed." Also according to Carr, Frazier has exceptional processing speed for a freshman, particularly in digesting the playbook, reading defenses and adjusting routes. Frazier is already on the cusp of the Notre Dame receiver rotation and probably will be a situational player rather than a regular part of the rota- tion this season. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH CLASS OF 2025 OR 2026 WIDE RECEIVER RECRUIT WILL HAVE THE BEST CAREER? The comeback for Notre Dame tight end Cooper Flanagan wasn't a simple one. The Irish believed his recovery from a left Achilles tendon injury in January 2025 would put him on track to make an impact late in the 2025 season. But after Fla- nagan made his season debut Oct. 18 against Southern Cal, he and the Irish decided to shut him down so he could refocus on his recovery. Flanagan completed his comeback early this season as Notre Dame's starting tight end. The senior caught a 2-yard touchdown pass — his first since Nov. 16, 2024 — in Notre Dame's 52-0 rout of Rice in the Irish home opener Sept. 12. Blue & Gold Illustrated caught up with Flanagan earlier this month to discuss his personal prog- ress, the evolution of the Irish offense and more. BGI: How has your life experience helped you handle challenges in football? Flanagan: "The first thing that comes to mind would be my injury. I think that definitely helped me be more grateful. Just coming into practice and going into games, I'm just grateful to be out there and to be able to play the sport I love with all these amazing kids and coaches. You kind of take it for granted sometimes." BGI: How does this offense become more ex- plosive? Flanagan: "[Quarterback] CJ [Carr] said it in the huddle before practice. There's no secret to hav- ing a great football team. It's the work you put in throughout the week. I think every Monday when we start back up, it needs to be a new week. You reset, and you need to put your head down and just work and try to get better every week. Try to be a better football team than the week before." BGI: What has it been like to see Luke Talich step up on defense? Flanagan: "That's one of my best friends. We live together. He's my roommate. He's one of the hardest workers I know. He's one of the toughest kids I know. He's a Swiss Army knife out here. "I remember in camp one day, I think we had some safeties down, and every play Luke is out there, hustling his butt off and making plays. He's a perfect example of a tough Notre Dame do-it-all safety. A great example." BGI: How big of a role should tight ends have in the red zone? Flanagan: "It's our size and athleticism. I think what we do in the run game kind of opens us up in the pass game. I think people kind of forget what we can do in the pass game in terms of the defense. But obviously we're big bodies and we have pretty sure hands." BGI: How excited does offensive coordinator/ tight ends coach Mike Denbrock get when a tight end scores a touchdown? Flanagan: "I think he tries to hide it, but I think he definitely gets juiced up." — Tyler James Five Questions With …SENIOR TIGHT END COOPER FLANAGAN Flanagan caught a 2-yard touchdown pass — his first since Nov. 16, 2024 — in Notre Dame's 52-0 rout of Rice on Sept. 12. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER FITZGERALD FRAZIER