Biggest remaining questions for Notre Dame football following the first week of fall camp heading toward the 2025 CFB season
Biggest question marks that Notre Dame needs to answer down the stretch of fall camp.
We are only a week into fall camp for Notre Dame football, but things are starting to materialize about the 2025 version of this team. Starters are beginning to show themselves, as are key role players. Fighting Irish fans are extremely excited for what this upcoming season could bring, and they should be.
As is true with every good team, there are still going to be some question marks remaining. That is also true of Notre Dame, who is still searching for answers. Here are the biggest remaining questions entering the final few weeks of fall camp.
When will a QB separate themselves?
The early reviews so far during fall camp are that CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey are playing at a very similar level. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can be when trying to determine who your starting quarterback is. We are entering a very important time for naming a starting quarterback potentially. You ideally want to give a couple of weeks for a new starting quarterback to get the majority of the reps heading into the first game against Miami. That means that the scrimmage this weekend could be huge if someone can separate themselves.
Defensive tackle impact
Two things can be true: Riley Mills and Howard Cross are going to be hard to replace, but the defensive line group is actually deeper in 2025. While there’s a good chance that a group of Jason Onye, Gabriel Rubio, Donovan Hinish, and Jared Dawson will most likely be very solid, there is still a question about just how impactful it will be. Notre Dame needs to find a difference maker inside somehow. Without one, they will have a high floor but a lower ceiling, which isn’t a negative per se, but it also isn’t inspiring for a championship contender.
Kicking game woes
The field goal kicking wasn’t very good in 2024 for Notre Dame, mostly due to the groin injury for Mitch Jeter. It was, however, a lot better in the playoffs with Jeter making several clutch kicks. Jeter came to Notre Dame as an extremely accurate kicker in his South Carolina career, so you know the room was at least solid. They went back to the transfer portal this offseason and brought in former UNC kicker Noah Burnette, who has been an inconsistent kicker during his career. The early reviews haven’t been inspiring, especially for when the Irish get into a close game this fall.
Just how good are the wide receivers?
We have heard some positive comments about the wide receiver position this fall camp, but not enough for pessimistic Notre Dame fans out there. Seeing Malachi Fields flash the catch radius is great, but one would hope that we would hear more about the wide receivers making plays against a very good secondary. I do believe that the wide receivers will be better for the Fighting Irish in 2025, but just how good remains a question mark.
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