Seahawks select riley mills in 5th round
Defensive lineman Rylie Mills was selected in the fifth round with the 142nd overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Mills is the 11th Notre Dame player all-time to be drafted to Seattle and the first since 2016 C.J. Prosise in 2016. He joins former Irish safety Julian Love on the Seahawks roster.
Mills will continue to rehab his injured knee, but the similarity to the Fighting Irish scheme should make for a smooth transition to the Seahawks' defensive scheme. He is expected to learn from veteran players like Leonard Williams and is expected to return by the end of the 2025 NFL season if all goes well with rehab.
He was an undeniable force on an Irish defense that finished the season first in pass efficiency defense (104.4), first in turnovers gained (33), first in defensive touchdowns (6), first in blocked kicks (6), second in fumbles recovered (14), second in blocked punts (3), fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19) and 11th in total defense (307.4).
Mills importance was evident in the CFP matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers when he dominated for two and a half quarters before suffering a season-ending injury while collecting a sack early in the third quarter of Notre Dame’s 27-17 victory. The Fighting Irish advanced to the national championship game, but their inability to consistently stop the run game against Penn State in the Orange Bowl and Ohio State in the CFP national championship game highlighted Mills’ absence as a leader and force in the middle of the defensive line.
Mills ranked tied for ninth all-time in career sacks in Notre Dame records with 17.0 on his career. He was the 14th Notre Dame player to record 15 or more sacks in his career. He was named a second-team All-American in 2024 by The Sporting News and ESPN.
In 2024, Mills played in 13 games and totaled 7.5 sacks and 8.5 TFL, with 37 tackles total. His season highlight came in the win vs. Florida State, when he posted three sacks, two coming on back-to-back plays. Mills was twice named to The Athletic’s “Freaks List” in 2023 and 2024.
Jack Kiser Selected in fourth round by jaguars
Notre Dame team captain Jack Kiser has been selected in the fourth round with the 107th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday. Kiser is the sixth Notre Dame player all-time to be drafted to Jacksonville and the first since Sheldon Day in 2016. He joins former Irish OL Robert Hainsey on the Jaguars roster.
Kiser completed his sixth season playing for the Irish in 2024 and led the team to wins in the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl, as well as a National Championship appearance. He holds the record for most games ever played at Notre Dame with 70 games played. Former Notre Dame QB Malik Zaire is amazed with what the defensive leader has accomplished and talked about it on Lucky Lefty Podcast.
“This will never be done again,” Zaire shared. “Seventy games is crazy. It just shows how committed he is to being the best version of himself and how he puts the program and team before everything. That record is going to stand forever. No one is going to eclipse that.”
Kiser notched 275 career tackles, 16 tackles for loss, six sacks, four interceptions (two pick-sixes), 11 passes defended, six forced fumbles and a blocked kick over his career.
He was the leader of a dominant Notre Dame defense this past with 90 tackles and comes on the tails of his 65 tackles in the 2023 season placed him third among Irish defenders and his 58 tackles in 2022 ranked him second on the team. He has been a model of consistency for a Notre Dame defense that peaked as one of the best defenses against the pass ranking fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19) and 11th in total defense (307.4).
Kiser led and participated in several community-facing initiatives during his time at Notre Dame. He twice served as the player committee chairman for the program’s Cleats For a Cause initiative, and he served as the Fighting Irish Fight for Life football team lead for the past three years. Additionally, Kiser worked with local low-income families to perform tax returns this past spring on a weekly basis leading up to Tax Day. He has also made an impact in his home community, as he visited his former youth football team to surprise local kids from his area, spend time with the team, and give them tickets to a Notre Dame Football game.
Xavier Watts Selected in 2nd round of nfl draft by falcons
Xavier Watts was selected in the third round with the 96th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner and team captain joins former Irish players JD Bertrand and Khalid Kareem in tlanta, and he is the second player drafted in two years by the Falcons (Bertrand). Watts is the 13th Notre Dame player all-time to be drafted by Atlanta.
This gives Notre Dame two players drafted in the top 100 picks of the NFL Draft, and makes them one of two teams to have two defensive backs selected in the top 100 along with Texas. The last time the Fighting Irish had the same success was in 1994 with Jeff Burris and Willie Clark.
Watts did nothing to dispel his 2nd round projection at Notre Dame's Pro Day. He participated in three events and cemented his status as a Day 2 pick. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds.
The talented safety is one of the most decorated Notre Dame football players in program history, Watts won the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy recognizing the best defensive player in college football, and is a two-time consensus All-American.
Over his career, Watts totaled 13 interceptions, the most by a Notre Dame player since 1996. His 13 interceptions over the last two seasons were the most by any FBS player during that span; the next closest players had nine.
Watts started his 33rd consecutive game at the CFP National Championship, the second-most for an Irish safety in program history (Jalen Elliott, 39 from 2017-19) and the 11th-most for any defensive player in Notre Dame history.He ranked ninth among active FBS players in consecutive starts in the secondary with 33.
Benjamin Morrison selected in 2nd round of nfl draft by bucs
Benjamin Morrison was selected in the second round with the 53rd overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday. The first Notre Dame player selected in the 2025 Draft, Morrison becomes the highest Irish defensive back selected in the NFL Draft since Kyle Hamilton (2022). Morrison was surrounded by Fighting Irish teammates Karson Hobbs, Christian Gray, and Adon Shuler as he received the phone call from the Buccaneers.
A 2024 team captain, Morrison led the Irish with six interceptions in 2022, earning consensus Freshman All-America honors. Morrison added three more interceptions to his career total in the 2023 season and owns the second-most for a Notre Dame player since 1996, behind teammate Xavier Watts.
Before his senior season was abruptly ended due to injury, Morrison amassed four pass breakups and 20 tackles in just six games. He continued to serve as a leader on defense for the Irish as they made their run to the CFP National Title game, as Notre Dame’s defense finished the season first in pass efficiency defense (104.4), first in turnovers gained (33), first in defensive touchdowns (6), first in blocked kicks (6), second in fumbles recovered (14), second in blocked punts (3), fourth in passing yards allowed (169.4), fourth in scoring defense (15.5), fifth in passes intercepted (19) and 11th in total defense (307.4).
Morrison was not an on-field participant at the NFL Combine, but held a private workout attended by 29 NFL teams at Brophy Prep (AZ), where he starred in high school. He had more than enough college film to warrant a first-round grade, but the inability to workout at the combine and some injury concerns more than likely led to a slight drop in the draft.
blue and gold game sheds light on qb competition
Marcus Freeman has spent the spring overseeing a new defensive coordinator in Chris Ash put his fingerprints on a talented defense along with a quarterback battle between Steve Angeli, CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. Last Saturday, he got an opportunity to watch the fruit of months of observations and evaluations during the annual Blue and Gold game at Notre Dame stadium.
The Blue team defeated the Gold team 76-31 in a spring game that looked much different than in years past.The Fighting Irish were without several players who were rehabbing from injury or resting from an extended run in the college football playoff.
That encouraged some changes to the format and scoring to the game. Instead of four quarters, the game consisted of three periods with four drives consisting of a minimum of six plays. For each of these drives, the ball was placed at various spots to create different game-like situations.
The biggest storyline during the spring has been the quarterback battle between Steve Angeli, CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey. All three QBs had an equal opportunity to shine, and each led the Irish offense on at least one touchdown-scoring drive. But many Irish fans are saying Carr looked the most impressive during Saturday’s game.
Carr finished 14 of 19 for 170 yards and two touchdowns, including a 27-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Xavier Southall and a two-yard score to freshman wide receiver Elijah Burress. However, he did throw the game’s only interception on his second-to-last drive under center.
After a slow start, Angeli seemed to settle in and capped his day with a 16-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Scrap Richardson. He finished 8 of 11 for 108 yards and the aforementioned touchdown.
Minchey ed a three-play, 45-yard drive where he scored on a four-yard run and celebrated his touchdown by doing a backflip in the end zone. He finished 6 of 14 through the air for 106 yards and ran for 12 yards on six carries.
After the game, Freeman said he saw a lot of good from all three quarterbacks and said they could all lead Notre Dame to wins.
“It’s crazy to think this, but you’ve got three guys that all could lead your program to a victory and be your starting quarterback,” Freeman said. “You would like to go into fall with a two-quarterback battle. It’s really hard truly having a three-quarterback battle.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Luke Talich led the way with nine tackles while Bryce Young and Preston Zinter were credited with sacks. Ben Minich intercepted Carr for the game’s only turnover.
But perhaps the biggest defensive plays of the afternoon came on a goal line stand in the seventh series of the scrimmage, where Talich helped the Gold team make back-to-back stops at the goal line on third and fourth down to prevent a Blue touchdown.
Jadarian Price led the team in rushing with 46 yards on six carries while freshman running back Nolan James Jr. led the team in receiving with 60 yards on three catches. For a full look at the final stats from the 2025 Blue-Gold Game,
The Irish will now wait for fall camp to begin preparation for their season opener versus the Miami Hurricanes on August 31st.
Chris ash has a db group that can do it all
When Notre Dame hired Chris Ash to replace Al Golden as the new defensive coordinator, a lot of analysts were quick to point out Ash’s four year absence from the college football landscape. Ash departed the Jacksonville Jaguars player personnel department to take on his present day task in South Bend, and after getting acclimated to his players on the field, he’s feeling more comfortable with his responsibilities.
“In my past, I’ve always coached a position group, Ash said. “This is the first time I’ve coordinated as a walk-around guy. There’s pros and cons to every situation. The pro here is you can kind of be the head coach of the defense.
“You can go into different meetings,” Ash continued. “ You get to see all the players rather than the ones you coach, outside of the film. I love that I see guys get coached, see who’s listening and responding to coaching. I get to watch drills and help coaches with their individual drills from a different perspective. So, I think there’s a lot of advantages to it.”
Upon his arrival in South Bend, Ash shared that he was coming to run the Notre Dame defense that had already been successful, with a few tweaks in preparation and fundamentals. The focus on fundamentals came from film evaluation, and his coaching experience with secondaries made his evaluations of one of the best units for the Fighting Irish easy to implement during the spring.
“They’re developing and getting better”, Ash explained. ‘ I really like what I see from that group. “We have a long way to go for them to truly master what we do. But man, they’re working hard every single day. I know they can hit. They can run, they can cover. So we can play man and we can play zone.
“That’s where technique helps,” Ash continued. “ Certain fronts go against certain coverages, so there’s things we can do with certain coverages, but also things we can’t do.”
The secondary is still without incoming freshmen like Dallas Golden, Mark Zackery, and transfer safety Jalen Stroman who is working his way back from a shoulder injury, but the spring has seen the emergence of Kennedy Urlacher, Brauntae Johnson, Ben Minich, Luke Talich and Karson Hobbs. Coach Ash seems to be locked on fortifying the back end of his defense similarly to Al Golden’s approach during his first spring.
Courtesy of Notre Dame Football (@ndfootall on IG)
‘27 qb malachi ziegler feels nd offense is a fit
Notre Dame has hosted some talented quarterbacks in the 2027 class
this spring, and one is a 6-3 200-pound dual threat in the form of four-
star Malachi Ziegler from Benton (La.) Benton. Benton has been in
contact with the Fighting Irish staff for the last few months and he was
excited to get a more personal impression of coaches, school and the
football program.
“I had a great visit,” Ziegler told LLM. “II got a chance to get
a better understanding of the history of Notre Dame as well as
connecting with the coaches in a more relaxed setting. Everything was
great.
“It was great,” Ziegler continued. “The campus has a majestic feel to it. I
can’t really explain it. The people there are extremely welcoming and
nice. At first, I thought it was them doing what they had to do like a lot of
other places. But no, it really is who they are.”
The Louisiana prep star was impressed with the football side of things on
several levels. His primary focus coming into the visit was the
quarterback, which he knew from reports, were in the middle of a hotly
contested battle. He also wanted to see the offense and defense
compete to gauge the overall team aspect of things.
“The brotherhood that the quarterbacks have is awesome,” Ziegler
elaborated. “They are literally in a competition, but you’d never know it.
They are that close to each other.
“The offense definitely fits who I am,” Ziegler continued. “I’m already
familiar with a lot of the concepts that they are doing. We just call the
plays by different terminology.”
Ziegler thoroughly enjoyed dialogue with both offensive coordinator Mike
Denbrock and quarterback coach Gino Guidugli during the practice.
Both coaches gave him a sense of belonging in a place that was a
mystery but now feels more like a possible future destination.
“I spent most of my time with coach Gino (Guidugli),” Ziegler shared.
“We literally talked about any and everything and continued to build the
relationship that started when he came to my school. I was with him and
the quarterbacks during most of the practice.
“Coach (Mike) Denbrock is hilarious,” Ziegler continued. “I stood next to
him for a while during practice too. He would be a great guy to play for.
We talked about the timeline of them moving forward. No quarterback
offer for my class will go out until May, so they’re going to come watch
me throw next month.”
Ziegler is also a big-time infielder for the Benton Tigers’ baseball team
showing good pop to all fields and the same speed that makes him one
of the best dual threat quarterbacks in his class. Recently, he’s made a
tough decision to leave the sport he truly loves to focus on development
on the gridiron.
“Football has really started to take off for me,” Ziegler stated. “As much
as I love baseball, I’m not going to be able to play this year. Being a
quarterback, my recruitment time is different than other positions. So, I
feel that I need to take advantage of the opportunity that’s in front of me.
I’m planning to return next season though.”
Head coach Marcus Freeman also left a lasting impression with Ziegler
as he returned home from South Bend. The young passer always liked
what he saw of the Fighting Irish leader as he watched the college
football playoffs, but the up close and personal experience was more
than he even imagined.
“I talked to coach (Marcus) Freeman for a good bit,” Ziegler detailed.
“He’s a great guy. I love his philosophy on life and football. He really
thinks I’m a great fit for the school and the football program.”
Ziegler currently holds offers from programs like Texas A&M, Ole Miss,
SMU, LSU and Arkansas to name a few.
espn gives nd’s strengths and weakness for 2025
ESPN recently released it’s strengths and weakness for the Way Too Early Top 25. Here is what they siad about the Fighting Irish:
Strength: The secondary. Losing Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison might be a huge red flag at a lot of schools. Not at Notre Dame, where the defensive backfield remains elite. Start with sophomore corner Leonard Moore, who established himself as one of the top young prospects in the country last season, allowing less than 40% completions and racking up 11 pass breakups and two picks. Christian Gray was a solid performer on the other side, while Adon Shuler blossomed at safety. Notre Dame added a solid option at safety in Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman. The back end of the defense should be the strength of this unit, just as it was a year ago.
Weakness: Quarterback. Perhaps "weakness" is the wrong word here. Marcus Freeman likes what he has to work with at the position. But after two straight years with veteran QBs, Notre Dame will turn to someone without much playing time under his belt in 2025. Who? Well, that's the big question. Steve Angeli has a leg up based on experience -- even though he doesn't have much of it -- but redshirt freshman CJ Carr has a chance to be special. The battle to see who leads the offense will be among the most watched in all of college football, and finding the right answer might be the biggest obstacle between now and another playoff bid for Notre Dame.
Here are the strengths and weaknesses according to LLM:
Strengths:
Secondary
The depth and talent goes beyond the usual suspects named Leonard Moore, Christian Gray, and Adon Shuler. Brauntae Johnson, Luke Talich, Ben Minich, Kennedy Urlacher, and incoming freshmen like Cree Thomas, Mark Zackery, and Dallas Golden give the Fighting Irish one of the most talented and deepest secondaries in the country.
Running Back:
Jeremiyah Love, JaDarian Price, Aneyas Williams, G'i’ Bran Payne, Kedron Young, and Nolan James. Enough said!
Linebacker:
Jack Kizer was one of the best representatives of linebacker play at Notre Dame and his leadership will be missed. Now, Drayk Bowen, Jaden Ausberry, Jaylen Sneed, and KVA give the Fighting Irish and extremely athletic LB group. The addition Madden Faraimo will only bolster the group. Who will become the leader of the group?
Offensive Line:
After a topsy turvy 2024 season along the offensive line due to injury and several first time starters, this group should be buch better with guys like Amil Wagner and Anthonie Knapp having a full season under their belts. The return of Charles Jagusah and Ashton Craig should bolster in the interiro of the line, with veteran Billy Scrauth anchoring the group as a leader. Sophomore Guerby Lambert and Freshman Will Black will also be candidates to push for time at the left tackle position during fall camp.
Weaknesses:
Quarterback:
This is only a weakness because of the unknown surrounding the QBs entrenched in a competitive battle this spring. The leadership and comfort level of Steve Angeli in the offense is a good foundation for the level of play needed in the program moving forward under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr are without a doubt the more physically gifted passers, but will they be ready to consistently make good decisions and distribute the football to a plethora of weapons.
Wide Receiver:
We’ll let the words of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock speak for LLM:
“We dropped the football way too much last year,” Denbrock said. “We gotta make the plays. I don’t know if you’d call them ordinary plays, but we need to make the plays — the ones that are 100 out of 100, we gotta be 100 out of 100.”
The Notre Dame football offensive coordinator said that consistency will be key in making improvements this season.
“Consistency in depth, consistency in route running. For a receiver, to be honest with you, it really shouldn’t matter who the quarterback is. I need to understand space and spacing and depth and specifics of techniques of route running.”
‘26 cb khary adams visits notre dame on april 4th
6-2 180-pound four-star defensive back Khary Adams of Towson (Md.) Loyola will visit Notre Dame on April 4th to continue building a strong relationship with the Fighting Irish coaching staff. Adams already has an official visit set for June 13 th, and the Maryland prep star is excited to see what Notre Dame offers.
“They’ve been on me from day one,” Adams told Irish LLM. “Coach (Mike) Mickens and I have a great relationship, and I really like what coach (Marcus) Freeman is building up there. I’m excited to see practice and everything.
“I want to play early,” Adams continued. “I want to see how they’re going to use me in the defense.”
Mike Micken and Khary Adams
Adams ranks 78th nationally according to 247 composite and has other officials set to Auburn (May 16th), South Carolina (May 30th), USC (June 3th), Penn State (June 6th), and Oregon (June 20th).
former nd recruiting target hits transfer portal
Notre Dame has been judicious and successful in how they use the transfer portal to solidify their roster. Marcus Freeman has consistently stated that his program will always have a foundation of recruiting high school players to South Bend. With that being said, some recent news might become intriguing to the Fighting Irish defensive staff as news broke early Friday morning that Stanford LB/DE David Bailey had entered the transfer portal.
With Stanford general manager Andrew Luck’s decision to part with Troy Taylor as head coach, look for several Cardinal players with 1 or 2 years of eligibility to explore their options elsewhere. The dominoes might have began falling with star pass rusher David Bailey, who entered on Friday.
In 2022, the Fighting Irish offered and made a strong push for the Mater Dei standout. He held offers from Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, LSU, Oklahoma, and USC among several others. He was ranked as a top 50 player in his class across several top recruiting services. The 6-3, 250-pound pass rusher was able to record 111 total tackles, 22.5 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks in three seasons. Bailey also managed to record seven forced fumbles.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator has a good group of pass rushers returning from a highly ranked defense. Guys like Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka, Jordan Bothello (injury), Boubacar Traore (injury), Bryce Young, Loghan Thomas, Cole Mullins, and highly touted incoming freshman Christopher Burgess Jr.
That’s a pretty deep group of pass rushers, but with Bothello and Traore returning from serious leg injuries, the Fighting Irish could possibly think about adding Bailey’s talents and not feel the need to rush either back to service for week 1 of college football. Bryce Young and Loghan Thomas are talented players that are still developing and probably aren’t ready to take a heavy number of snaps. Burnham and Tuihalamaka are solid guys that stepped up for the Fighting Irish after losing their top two guys during the regular season, but passing rushing is not their forte. This makes Bailey and intriguing conversation for the Notre Dame staff. He has one more year of eligibility, and should want to play for a high profile contender that can compete for a national championship. He also might be ready to leave the comforts of California for the midwest. Either way, the Fighting are working from a place of strength, and addition like Bailey would definitely signal that Marcus Freeman is not satisfied until he wins a championship.
mike denbrock needs wr drops to stop
Notre Dame’s spring practice talk has been dominated by the three man quarterback competition, new coaching hires and big time recruits visiting South Bend. In the midst of all of that, OC Mike Denbrock is focused on getting the entire Fighting Irish offense to elevated to match the dominance of it’s defefnsive counterpart.
Denbrock’s offenses have a history of making significant strides in yards per game and points per game in his second season as the play-caller at Cincinnati, LSU and his first stint at Notre Dame.
Mike Denbrock stats in first 2 years as OC
The numbers show that his offense is about balance and efficiency, highlighted by a strong run game and big play passing game that allows his teams to increase the points per game with an efficiency rating of 1 point added per 7.3 yards per game.
The Notre Dame offense was 51st in the nation in passing efficiency, and that wasn’t a result that solely laid at the feet of starting quarterback Riley Leonard. The offensive suffered injuries and an inability to secure time to throw consistently, and the wide receiver group was unable to provide separation along with developing a habit of dropping passes in big moments. In order for Denbrock’s offense to continue his 2nd year trend, catching the rock has to be a top priority this spring.
'“From their stanpoint, we dropped the football way too much last year,” Denbock said. We gotta make the plays. I don’t know if you’d call them ordinary plays, but we need to make the plays.
“The ones that are 100 out of 100,” Denbrock continued. We gotta be 100 out of 100. That comes with consistency in depth, consistency in route running. For a wide receiver, to be honest with you, it really shouldn’t matter who the quarterback is.”
The Fighting Irish added transfers Will Pauling and Malachi Fields to the room with budding stars like Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse coming off big moments during the College Football Playoffs. There are several younger receivers getting opportunities this spring due to due to injuries like Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, KK Smith, Logan Saldate, and freshmen Jerome Bettis Jr. and Elijah Burress. Securing the ball is the priority for WR coach Mike Brown and his group this spring and it’s an important facet independent of the ongoing quarterback battle.
notre dame pro day results
Xavier Watts was one of the main attractions as NFL coaches, executives and scouts descended upon South Bend for the 25th Pro Day. Watts has a chance to be selected in the top 50, and his performance helped those chances.
The 6-foot, 204-pound Watts put a number on his speed with a 40-yard dash in 4.56 seconds. That time seemed to please several onlookers and confirmed Watts to be one of the best ball hawking safeties in the NFL Draft.
“I’m pretty satisfied with it," Watts said. "A lot of people thought I was like really slow, so I’m glad I came out here and did what I needed to do. I’m satisfied with what I did.”
It was good to see Riley Mills out of the walking boot and supporting his fellow teammates throughout the day. Mills says he progressing nicely in his rehab, and expects to start running again soon. His running mate, Howard Cross, put up solid results across the board without running the 40-yard dash.
The two Fighting Irish WRs showcased their skills with Kris Mitchell running the fastest 40 yard dash at 4.5, and Beaux Collins displaying 4.52 speed and 10-10 broad jump. They both ran crisp routes as they caught passes from Riley Leonard, who looked good on most balls he threw. Leonard threw several beautiful deep passes to receivers and was accurate outside the pocket. Another one of his pass catchers was Mitchell Evans, who showed he’s getting back to his original form running well in the 40 yard dash (4.68) and drills.
Jack Kizer followed up an impressive performance at the NFL combine with a solid day, and defensive back Jordan Clark showed well as his father, Ryan Clark, watched from nearby. New General Manager, Mike Martin, was seen working the crowd of scouts and coaches along with head coach Marcus Freeman and several assistant coaches.
Notre Dame football released the results from Pro Day in the Irish Athletics Center, which all 32 NFL teams sent a representative to attend.
5-star pass rusher set to visit notre dame march 27th
2027 6-5 220 pound DE DJ Jacobs of Roswell (Ga) Blessed Trinity received an offer from the Fighting Irish on Monday and immediately made plans to visit South Bend on March 27th. The 4-star elite pass rusher ranks 5th nationally according to 247. composite and shows incredible speed and quickness on film. Blessed Trinity also produced former Fighting Irish LB JD Bertand, and the two have spoken about how special of a place Notre Dame is.
“He’s (JDBertrand) told me about Notre Dame,” Jacobs told LLM. “I’m looking to actually seeing things for myself and getting to create my own experience.”
The recruitment has been a collaborative effort from the Fighting Irish staff, and that’s made an impression on Jacobs and his family.
“I’m looking forward to meeting the rest of the coaches,” Jacobs continued. “I’ve been talking to Coach (Nick) Sebastian and Coach (Al) Washington for the most part. I really enjoy talking to them both and they really wanted to get me on campus, so I’ll be up there soon.”
Jacobs currently holds offers from schools like USC, Texas, Texa A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia.
5-star rodney dunham sets commitment date
Notre Dame made a great impression with 2026 5-star edge Rodney Dunham of Charlotte (NC) Myers Park on his recent visit to South Bend with several recruiting services predicting that the Fighting Irish will land the services of the talented pass rusher. We’ll find out soon where he’ll be going as he’s announced that a commitment will happen on April 10th.
The 6-foot, 4-inch and 227-pound pass rusher is the nation’s No. 33 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings,
There was a time very early on I would have argued that Notre Dam led, but when the big boys from the south and some teams with big NIL budgets started to get involved the Irish fell behind a bit. The Fighting Irish were relentless in their pursuit of Dunham during the open period and that energy persisted well into his visit with his family accompanying him. The staff would love to land both Dunham and another Carolina prospect, Ebenezer Ewetade, as a ddminant pair of pass rushers in the 2026 class.
His other finalists are Duke, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina, as Dunham has set official visits for all of them. Time will tell if he makes them following his commitment, but the Fighting Irish definitely have the momentum, and being chosen on April 10th would only be the beginning of the battle to secure his services on national signing day.
Film:
http://www.hudl.com/v/2Qdw19
ja’ juan seider has a clear plan for his running backs
When new Fighting Irish running back coach Ja’ Juan Seider departed Penn State, he knew he was stepping into an uber talented running back room. However, he also knew that he would be challenged to gain the trust of young men that had strong ties and belief in former running back coach Deland McCullough, who departed South Bend for a similar position with the Las Vegas Raiders of the NFL. Coach Seider met with the assembled media and laid out his plan for his room during spring practice.
“Let's make the rep count because we in spring,” Seider explained. “We’re still in the process of learning new teaching, new read keys. I mean a bunch of newness, right? So we talked early when we first got here being uncomfortable and now it's time for us to be comfortable as a group and I think we're starting to get to that point where they trust me, I trust them and it's evolving.”
Seider’s Nittany Lion backfiield tandem combined for 2207 yards rushing and 20 touchdowns on the ground last year. By comparison, the top two Notre Dame running backs combined for 1871 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground. Notre Dame also got contributions from Freshman Aneyas Williams who thrived as the third down back. He rushed for 219 yards and two touchdown in addition to 18 receptions for 172 yards. The depth and versatility is an incredible luxury for Seider, but he feels that the room will go as the best player in the room goes.
Notre Dame RB Coach Ja’ Juan Seider
“Then with a guy like Jeremiyah who's obviously on a natural scale,” Seider said. How do you push in on this? Listen, my whole life and philosophy, how I grew as a coach, it doesn't matter if you are a national player, you coach your best players hard because if you don't, you fell on that kid in that moment, he don't improve, right? Last year is last year, nobody cared about last year. This is a new year. We talked about new year, new us. I wasn't here, nobody cares what Jeremiyah Love last year, it’s what Jeremiyah Love is going to do this year. So that's kind of been our mindset because you have to have a growth mindset, otherwise you could complain.”
That's definitely the type of coaching great players like Jeremiyah Love want because it sets the stage for evolution. You want to be able to take your game up from the next level, read keys and change the game, but your knowledge is supposed to expand and grow. Seider definitely seem like a coach that's going to promote that in new and fresh way. He has to keep the running backs on their toes and continue to push these guys forward so that they don't get comfortable in the sense that they can rely on the things that they could get away with last year. Whenever you're in a new relationship, there's a lot of proving that has to take place in regaining or building trust, and Seider’s design for his players seems to be resonationg. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price both spoke about Seider’s playing experience as a quarterback and how it gives them both a new pre-snap perspective and understanding that they look forward to implementing in spring and fall practices.
One difference from last season for a talented six man room may be the usage of Jeremiyah Love on third downs and in clutch moments;
“I mean it's hard to go in a game, say you're going to play six, Seider explained. “ To me, that's impossible. I can always go back to what I'd done in 19. I had four freshmen hadn't separated they self, so we were trying to figure out who was going to be the guy and then eventually we had a kid named Jamie Brown, separate from everybody and then became a star player. And then you kind of balance even you got a star player. He shouldn't take every snap, right? He need balance. He need to be fresh for the fourth quarter. He need to be fresh for game winning situations. So here we got a good depth because you got Jay Love, you got your JaDarian, you got Gi’ Bran, you got Aneyas and you got Kedren. All those guys play. You just got to find out how you're going to fit those guys.”
‘27 qb trae taylor is okay with notre dame’s process
Notre Dame’s plan for quarterbacks in the 2027 class has been
mysterious to say the least, especially when “Pot of Gold” offers
concluded on March 17 th without zero offers being extended to signal
callers. Several of those highly ranked signal callers would be visiting
South Bend in the days to come, and one of those highly ranked
prospects was four-star 6-3 195-pound quarterback Trae Taylor of
Mundelein (Ill.) Carmel Catholic. When Taylor released his top five
schools in mid-February, the Fighting Irish were notably absent from the
list and there is a simple explanation as to why they were excluded.
“They were very understanding of why I didn’t have ND in the top 5,”
Taylor told LLM. “I can’t put a school in who hasn’t offered.
But best believe if I'm not committed, I’ll keep doing my due diligence
with other schools.”
Taylor and his father arrived in South Bend this past Friday with clear
plans. They were intent on viewing the practice to see how the offense
looked being led by the current quarterbacks amid a highly contested
battle, having a conversation with head coach Marcus Freeman and
Gino Guidugli, and assurances of an open line of communication. His
checklist was accomplished during the visit, and he couldn’t be more
pleased with the results.
“The practice was really good and fast,” Taylor elaborated. “I can see the
changes being made for the quarterbacks in that room now. I see myself
in the offense and it fits me. Coach (Mike) Denbrock told me let’s do
Jayden Daniels’ things together.
“Had a good talk with Coach Freeman,” Taylor continued. “He just said
I’m a priority and the process for quarterbacks is different, and that I
need to be somewhere where the coach has my back. We also talked
about what comes with being a Notre Dame quarterback.”
2027 QB Trae Taylor and Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman
Those conversations also yielded when an offer may be forthcoming,
and the smooth passer isn’t bothered one bit by the direction the
Fighting Irish have chosen.
“Sounds like no quarterbacks will be offered until May,” Taylor stated.
Coach Guidugli will go out and watch the quarterbacks throw at the end
of April, and then the offers will go out. They said I’ll be their first stop on
the way out.
“My commitment date is still June 6 th ,” Taylor continued. “So many have
asked me if I’m turned off by not having the offer. The answer is NO. As
long as the communication is there and the relationship is building, I’m
good. If the offer comes, then great. If not, I’ve built relationships with
some great people. Who knows where our paths may cross again.”
The Fighting Irish staff is not bruised because of Taylor’s top 5 schools.
They respect how Taylor has handled his recruitment, and the visit
seems to have intensified things on both sides moving forward. Taylor is
looking forward to the rest of the process and deciding on his school.
“I’ll be ready when they come to see me,” Taylor shared. “All the
coaches said they loved how I handled my recruitment, and they
appreciated it. They loved how I’m moving forward, not waiting but being
flexible.
“I started going to game day visits in 5 th grade,” Taylor continued. “I
started going to college camps in 6 th and my first offer was in 7 th . I’ve
been doing this for a long time, so I know what i want from a school and
program. That’s why I went back to Notre Dame. They offer what I want
on and off the field. I can’t believe it’s all about to be over. Once I
commit, I’m done unless the staff leaves.”
SHAUN M. DAVIS
Lucky Lefty Media
ND BUILDS WITH TALENTED ‘26 CB JAZIEL HART
Notre Dame knows a thing or two about talented, smart and confident corners, so it should come as no surprise that recently offered Jaziel Hart fits that mold perfectly. Irish secondary coach Mike Mickens offered Hart in February, and the relationship building since then has made the Irish a major contender for the Roanoke (Va.) North Cross standout. It was an impactful offer for Hart.
"The offer was huge,” Hart told LLM. "I’ve been talking and building the relationship with coach (Mike) Mickens and coach (Jevaughn) Codlin. I like the high energy they bring to the conversations."
Hart worked quickly to set up a visit to Notre Dame, which he is making next week on April 2nd.
"I want to meet the coaches and watch them practice,” Hart said. "They have good corners. I like the aggressive style they play, because that’s the way I like to play.”
The conversations with Mickens have also included discussions about the Virginian prep star’s game as he’s focused on getting better this offseason. Hart is looking forward to watching the Fighting Irish defensive backs and coaches in person during his upcoming visit.
"He (Mickens) told me that he loves my film,” Hart stated. "He said what he likes most about my game is my IQ and how I read things before the play and my athleticism. He’s told me some things I can work on as well.”
The tradition of Notre Dame is no secret to Hart, and he’s excited to see it all up close and personal when he makes his spring unofficial visit, and hopefully a summer official visit. They are both in advance of his pending July 3rd commitment announcement.
"Notre Dame has the tradition,” Hart elaborated. "I’ll be looking on how I fit into the program, the lifestyle outside of the school, getting closer to the players and just enjoying everything that comes my way.”
Hart has three official visits scheduled with Virginia Tech, Penn State and Michigan. The Fighting Irish are trending towards receiving his fourth visit spot in June if things continue to trend upward after the visit.
"We’ll talk about setting it up,” Hart stated. "Like I said, we’re just building the relationship now, and if things go well, I’ll probably get back up there again.”