Notre Dame football Fall camp roster reveals key weight changes, physical transformations for Marcus Freeman’s 2026 squad
Notre Dame kicks off Fall camp on Thursday. The 2026 Fighting Irish squad has several players who have made massive transformations.
Notre Dame football is officially back.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and his 2026 Fighting Irish squad kicked off fall camp on Thursday, and over the next several weeks, we’re going to learn a lot about this football team. From breakout stars to potential new starters to position battles and key rotational players, everything is on the table.
Notre Dame released its updated roster ahead of camp, which included verified heights and weights for the entire team. As always, there are some significant takeaways from the physical transformations players have made this offseason.
After going through the roster, a few things stood out, centered around weight gains, weight losses, and reminders of just how talented this group is heading into the fall.
Luke Talich’s listing and his expanding defensive role
Perhaps the funniest takeaway from the updated roster was senior safety Luke Talich being listed at 6-4 and 247 pounds. While Talich is all of 6-4, that 247 is clearly a typo. Notre Dame most likely meant to list him at 217 pounds, which feels like an appropriate weight for the talented safety.
Even with that 30-pound correction, the 217-pound listing that is most likely accurate aligns with what I’ve been hearing a lot about this offseason. There is a want for Notre Dame, on top of Adon Shuler and star safety Tae Johnson, to get all three safeties on the field at the same time. Talich spent part of the spring working more on the second level, and I could see some three-safety alignments in a true umbrella look this season.
It also would not be shocking to see the Wyoming native operating on the second level of the defense in passing situations and some nickel and dime packages.
While Talich started his career as a walk-on, he has developed into a key player for Notre Dame on both special teams and defense. I expect the staff to utilize that versatility a ton more going into the 2026 season.
Tionne Gray drops 20 pounds ahead of expanded role
A noteworthy weight loss belongs to Oregon transfer defensive tackle Tionne Gray, who showed up to Notre Dame right around 340 pounds and is now listed at 6-5 and 320 pounds. That is a perfect weight for the talented redshirt sophomore defensive lineman.
If you watch any of his film from last season at Oregon, he popped considerably. But one thing that needed to get addressed was overall conditioning. At Oregon, with A’Mauri Washington and Bear Alexander taking a large majority of the reps, the Ducks didn’t need to depend on Gray to play a high volume. For Notre Dame, they’re going to depend on him a lot more in 2026. Play-to-play consistency and conditioning were going to be prioritized.
Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge is a coach who traditionally loves his defensive linemen being aggressive and firing up the field. Having Gray in better condition and at a lighter weight will certainly play into his opportunity to make an impact for the Irish this season.
5-star tight end Ian Premer already up to 245 pounds
It’s just a 5-pound difference, but true freshman five-star tight end Ian Premer is already up to 245 pounds. You blink your eyes, and Notre Dame now has three different tight ends, along with James Flanigan and Cooper Flanagan, who are most likely going to be about 6-6 and 250-plus pounds heading into next season.
It’s time to buy stock in Premer. Although he did not enroll until the summer, he has already made a significant impact on folks around South Bend since arriving a couple of months ago. There’s no questioning the overall talent and skill set.
He has the highest upside of any pass-catching tight end on the roster, which is why I think he is going to carve out a nice niche this offseason.
Sean Sevillano Jr. sheds significant weight
Redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Sean Sevillano Jr. has also had a tremendous weight loss this offseason. Now listed at 6-2 and 313 pounds, he has been up in the 335-to-340-pound range throughout the majority of his Notre Dame career. Being down to 313 pounds is needed for his conditioning level and overall explosiveness as a football player.
Sevilano was mentioned by head coach Marcus Freeman at his press conference as a player who is having a really strong offseason and has an opportunity to contend for a spot in the rotation this season. Seeing him down at that lower weight is a great sign that he is potentially ready to contribute to this team.
Kedren Young a physical wild card in the backfield
The last player worth highlighting isn’t a weight loss or weight gain story.
Redshirt sophomore running back Kedren Young is listed at about 234 pounds, which is just a reminder of how physically talented he is and how potentially important he could be to this running back room. Nolan James Jr. checks in at 215 pounds, and Aneyas Williams is a rock-solid 210 pounds, but there just isn’t a true power runner in this group other than Young.
Seeing him back healthy is going to be a sight for sore eyes for Notre Dame fans. If he’s able to stay healthy, Young has a chance to play a much bigger role than some people anticipate this season.
