Notre Dame Football Mailbag: Grading new coaching hires, impact freshmen in 2026, spring preview, and recruiting ideologies
The latest Notre Dame football mailbag focuses on impact freshmen in 2026, various new coaching hires, and the plan at backup quarterback, among other topics.
Notre Dame football is just at the beginning of a very important offseason. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have championship aspirations heading into the 2026 college football season, having one of the deepest and most talented rosters in the entire country. The program is busy solidifying various coaching hires, as well as getting the offseason schedule started. It is a very busy time in South Bend.
To help get through the next several months, I decided to bring back the mailbag features on the site each week. As always, thank you to those readers who submitted questions this week. Let’s discuss the coaching hires made by Notre Dame, some true freshmen who can play the most heading into the 2026 season, and a Spring practice preview, among other topics.
Grading the new coaching hires
Replacing Mike Mickens, Max Bullough, and Al Washington isn’t an easy task, but I think Notre Dame did as well as one could hope. I think that you could make a strong argument (and I would) that the Irish defense upgraded on the defensive line with Charlie Partridge and Brian Jean-Mary at linebacker. The secondary probably takes a slight step back by going from Mickens to Aaron Henry, but I don’t think that gap is nearly as large as some might think. Overall, I give the full haul an A grade. There’s a very real chance that this defensive coaching staff is better in 2026 as a whole.
Quarterback recruiting ideology
Yes, I’d absolutely consider it. I’m still a “recruit the best player possible” guy, but there is some legitimacy to filling with program guys around your top talent. I honestly think that was the strategy with Noah Grubbs being a top target for the team in 2026, especially when it looked like the Irish had landed CJ Carr and Deuce Knight in consecutive years. That outlook obviously changed a bit once the Knight saga neared the unfortunate ending.
Marty Biagi’s future with the Irish
As of today, yes, special teams coordinator Marty Biagi is expected back in 2026. That could, however, change in the near future as the hiring searches finalize. Biagi is well-liked on the NFL level by a couple of different organizations have their eyes on him, as does another college program. We will see if Notre Dame can keep him for another season.
Impact freshman in 2026
On offense, it is between running back Javian Osborne, wide receiver Kaydon Finley, and tight end Ian Premer. It won’t be easy for either player to crack the rotation, at least early on in the season, but each might be too talented to keep off the field. I’m especially interested to see how many chances Osborne gets down the stretch of the season. He brings juice that the running back room lacks a bit with Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price off to the NFL, while Finley is a strong and technically advanced wide receiver. While I’m very high on Premer, not enrolling until the summer does give me some pause for just how much impact he will make during his first year.
In the secondary, I’m interested to see how much safety Joey O’Brien and cornerback Khary Adams are able to play in 2026. There should be opportunities at the field safety spot behind Tae Johnson, as well as boundary cornerback Leonard Moore. Both players could figure into the depth conversation, and early on.
Looking back at coaching decisions
No, this isn’t a Chris Ash thing. Both Mike Mickens and Al Washington left for NFL jobs. This wasn’t a lateral decision to go to another college program. If they left for a lateral move, then there could be some legitimacy to the worry. If either had been named a defensive coordinator, I do think that there’s a good chance that one of them would still be in that position. I don’t think that these recent career decisions are a huge indication that they hate Ash or something of that vein, however.
Cam Williams’ role in 2026
I would love to sit here and say that Cam Williams is going to be a breakout player in 2026, but I just have no reason to believe that right now. His speed is such a big element to a passing game, but I have extreme caution buying into him right now. If I’m wrong, this 2026 passing attack has the chance to be really good. If Williams does break out, it would be a bonus for an improving group.
Inside the Notre Dame locker room
Whenever there are coaching changes, there is always going to be disappointment. Hiring someone like Charlie Partridge to coach the defensive line, however, is a power move. That is an easy sell for the defensive linemen coming back, so I expect the room to get on board quickly, if they haven’t already. When it comes to the linebacker room, having Marcus Freeman on staff is a huge help to smoothing things over.
The secondary is a place where I am a bit more worried. Aaron Henry is a coach with a great reputation, however, so I’m not overly worried at the moment. That room did love Mike Micken, so that’s where my worry comes from. The first couple of weeks on the job will be vitally important to create buy-in.
The negative effect of coaching turnover
To the latter part of the question, yes, Aaron Henry is coming here to coach and develop defensive backs. As of today, I’m not worried about decommitments in the 2027 recruiting class. Amarri Irvin is the only linebacker commit, so I tend to think that Brian Jean-Mary will be able to smooth over that relationship quickly, especially because he had recruited him before he committed to Notre Dame. Henry will have to try and keep the trio of Xavier Hasan, Ace Alston, and Khalil Terry together. That’s where my concern would be, but I have no reason to be worried at the moment.
Full scope on Aaron Henry
No, I’m not. Aaron Henry will have a hand in setting the coverage structures on the backend, but that wasn’t his flaw as a defensive coordinator. He struggles as a playcaller, which is a much different issue. Henry isn’t going to be calling the defense for Notre Dame. He is, and has been, an outstanding defensive back developer. That’s all that matters right now.
Spring ball preview for Notre Dame
There are two things I’m most interested in watching in the spring: Where certain players are lining up on the offensive line and who is playing nickel for Notre Dame. For the former, we know that Anthonie Knapp will most likely be at left tackle, and a combination of Joe Otting and Ashton Craig (when healthy) will be at center. Outside of that, where will Joe Rudolph have Guerby Lambert, Charles Jagusah, and Will Black playing? Who will be practicing most at right tackle?
As of today, I think that Christian Gray will be playing a lot in the nickel, but will he be the top option? Perhaps Dallas Golden ends up being the answer in the slot, and Gray will be rotating with Colorado transfer DJ McKinney at field cornerback. I’m very interested to see how the rotation at cornerback works itself out in general.
What’s the plan at backup quarterback?
I do believe that Notre Dame will keep their eyes open for veteran quarterbacks that become available, especially since it did so during the transfer portal process. It, unfortunately, just didn’t work out. At this point, I’d say the odds are that the Irish staff just ends up rolling with a battle between Blake Hebert, Noah Grubbs, and Teddy Jarrard for the backup role behind CJ Carr, but we will see how things shake out. That battle, while it won’t figure heavily into the 2026 outlook most likely, will be massive for the future of the program.
The real story with Spencer Porath
I’m not sure if this is breaking news or not (and trust me, I’m not trying to be sarcastic), but stuff like this happens all the time. Some will call it tampering, but tampering in college football just doesn’t exist right now. Most transfer decisions are made well before the portal ever even opens. Think of this as if former Purdue kicker Spencer Porath had a “no contact” tag and just chose not to publicly “enter” the portal. Porath knew where he was going and didn’t want to waste time.
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