Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547169
36 OCT. 31, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI man (the voices are getting louder) Chase Smith has stabilized the position. Can the edge rushers be exploited against the run? Maybe, because they're speed-oriented play- ers, but it hasn't happened yet. And one of them, Marquise Lightfoot, is tied for second in run stops with 6. If I were Notre Dame, though, this is where I would attack the Hurricanes on the ground. That means a heavy emphasis on counter, which isolates the defensive ends on a pulling guard and gets them kicked out. Fortunately for the Irish, they have narrowed in on counter as their bread and butter in the run game. Miami has the edge, but I'm curious to see if that works. Advantage: Miami NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. MIAMI PASS DEFENSE Last year 's Hurricanes had college football's best edge rusher tandem in Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor. This year's Hurricanes might have college football's best edge rusher trio. Miami replaced Bain and Mesidor with Mis- souri transfer Damon Wilson II and two returners in Lightfoot and Armondo Blount. Lightfoot and Blount actually start, but Wilson led the Canes in quarterback pressures (20) through Week 6. Bain and Mesidor had more power, but the new group of pass rushers is defined by devastating speed and quickness. Wilson's ability to time up snap counts and burst off the ball is nearly un- matched, so if you're slow off the ball, you are completely screwed. Don't forget about Moten, a Junior tight end Elija Lofton notched 12 receptions for 134 yards and 1 touchdown during the Hurricanes' first five contests. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS OFFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 6 Jordan Faison 5-11 185 Sr. 33 Matt Jeffery 5-11 195 Jr. WR 1 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 215 Sr. or 3 Mylan Graham 6-1 195 Jr. LT 74 Will Black 6-7 316 So. 71 Styles Prescod 6-6 304 Jr. LG 54 Anthonie Knapp 6-5 305 Jr. 57 Cam Herron 6-2 297 So. C 70 Ashton Craig 6-5 315 5th 64 Joe Otting 6-4 309 Sr. RG 75 Sullivan Absher 6-7 320 Sr. 58 Matty Augustine 6-7 315 So. RT 76 Guerby Lambert 6-7 325 Jr. 71 Styles Prescod 6-6 304 Jr. TE 87 Cooper Flanagan 6-6 255 Sr. or 88 James Flanigan 6-6 253 So. WR 14 Micah Gilbert 6-2 205 Jr. 17 Elijah Burress 6-1 190 So. or 8 Jerome Bettis Jr. 6-2 207 So. QB 13 CJ Carr 6-2 215 Jr. 10 Noah Grubbs 6-4 210 Fr. or 9 Teddy Jarrard 6-4 210 Fr. RB 22 Aneyas Williams 5-10 210 Jr. or 2 Nolan James Jr. 5-10 215 So. DEFENSE Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 5 Boubacar Traore 6-5 253 Sr. 10 Loghan Thomas 6-3 221 Jr. DT 88 Armel Mukam 6-3 300 Sr. 7 Francis Brewu 6-1 285 Jr. NT 0 Tionne Gray 6-5 320 Jr. or 7 Francis Brewu 6-1 285 Jr. DE 95 Bryce Young 6-6 260 Jr. 11 Keon Keeley 6-5 275 Sr. WLB 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-1 226 Sr. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-1 227 5th MLB 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 234 Sr. 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6-3 234 Jr. or 19 Madden Faraimo 6-2 235 So. NB 29 Christian Gray 6-0 196 Sr. 1 Dallas Golden 6-0 195 So. or 12 Jayden Sanders 6-0 195 So. CB 15 Leonard Moore 6-2 197 Jr. 12 Jayden Sanders 6-0 195 So. BOUND 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 205 Sr. 22 Ethan Long 6-2 205 So. FIELD 28 Luke Talich 6-4 222 Sr. 20 Joey O'Brien 6-5 200 Fr. CB 2 DJ McKinney 6-1 190 5th 13 Ayden Pouncey 6-3 189 Fr SPECIAL TEAMS Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 36 Micah Drescher 6-5 196 Fr. or 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 211 So. PK 35 Spencer Porath 6-0 200 Jr. 36 Micah Drescher 6-5 196 Fr. P 39 Jasper Scaife 6-6 222 Fr. 18 Erik Schmidt 6-2 211 So. LS 96 Joseph Vinci 6-4 233 Jr. 49 Andrew Kros 6-4 227 Sr. H 39 Jasper Scaife 6-6 222 Fr. PR 6 Jordan Faison 5-11 185 Sr. 1 Jaden Greathouse 6-1 215 Sr. or 22 Aneyas Williams 5-10 210 Jr. KR 22 Aneyas Williams 5-10 210 Jr. or 2 Nolan James Jr. 5-10 215 So. 20 Jonaz Walton 5-9 214 Fr. or 21 Kedren Young 5-11 234 Jr. NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH TWO-DEEP DEPTH CHART