Predicting the remaining key Notre Dame position battles following CJ Carr beating Kenny Minchey out for the starting QB job
Predicting remaining position battle winners for Notre Dame
Notre Dame football now has their starting quarterback, announcing on Tuesday that redshirt freshman CJ Carr has won the job over Kenny Minchey. That battle has been all anyone has wanted to talk about all off-season, and it is great to finally have some resolution. That isn’t, however, the only position that has been up for grabs for the Fighting Irish.
With less than two weeks until Notre Dame kicks off the 2025 college football season against the Miami Hurricanes, there are a few position battles that need to be settled. Here are those current openings, the players battling, and how I see things playing out come August 31st
Right guard
For a while, this right guard job felt like it was Sullivan Absher’s to lose when Charles Jagusah suffered an offseason injury. We have, however, seen redshirt freshman Guerby Lambert get into the mix the last couple of weeks. I wouldn’t be overly shocked to see both at some point during the first couple of games, but I like the upside of Lambert a lot. The thought of having big No. 76 in the run game next to Aamil Wagner is a pretty frightening sight.
Safety
We know that Adon Shuler is going to hold down one safety spot, but there are several players who have been fighting for playing time. The top three contenders appear to be Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman, Luke Talich, and Tae Johnson, with JaDon Blair battling as well. There has been a lot of speculation recently around Stroman, and him seemingly locking down the starting spot. There does, however, still appear to be some momentum with Talich. One of those two will take the first snap of the season, and I’ll guess Talich just for the fun of it.
Defensive tackle
This battle isn’t as important when it comes to true starters as some others, but it’ll still be interesting to see who starts the game out against Miami. The four players to know at the top of the group are Jason Onye, Gabriel Rubio, Donovan Hinish, and Jared Dawson. I predict that Onye and Hinish will start out the game, offering some alignment versatility inside. While this interior might not be as impactful as the tandem of Riley Leonard and Howard Cross III from a starter perspective, you can argue that it’s a deeper overall group.
WILL linebacker
The linebacker room is as deep and talented as any position on the Notre Dame roster. We know that Drayk Bowen will be this team’s starting MIKE linebacker, but Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, Jaylen Sneed, and Jaiden Ausberry will all fight for snaps next to him at WILL linebacker. While all three will play a lot, it does appear that Sneed has solidified that starting role, at least for now. He has put together a strong offseason, and folks around the program are expecting a great year for Sneed in 2025.
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