Notre Dame Football Mailbag: CJ Carr development, transfer portal defensive tackles, and an early look at the 2025 team
There is renewed excitement over the Notre Dame football program following their Sugar Bowl victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. Only two games now stand in front of them from claiming a championship for the first time in 36 years. It’s been a long road, but the Irish are finally trending in a great direction. To […]
There is renewed excitement over the Notre Dame football program following their Sugar Bowl victory over the Georgia Bulldogs. Only two games now stand in front of them from claiming a championship for the first time in 36 years. It’s been a long road, but the Irish are finally trending in a great direction.
To continue the excitement, I decided to do a weekly Notre Dame football mailbag. It’s open to team specific questions, or recruiting as well. Here were the top questions from the week.
Increased role for KVA
We have seen a lot of great signs of freshman linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa this season, including holding a few different roles. After coming back from a knee injury that sidelined him for a couple of games, Viliamu-Asa did return against Georgia in a limited capacity. We saw 13 snaps from him, mostly as a situational pass rusher. Expect to see even more of KVA against Penn State, including a higher volume and impact both on the second level and off of the edge.
Transfer portal defensive tackles
According to a couple of sources, Notre Dame feels like they are in a good place with a couple of defensive tackles in the transfer portal. There is one in particular that I am very confident in. If you read my coverage over the last week or so, and read closely, it probably won’t be too hard to figure out. We should have some clarity as a fanbase over the next week or so.
2025 offensive line
The 2025 offensive line has been a popular conversation, and for good reason. The Irish have a lot of talented players coming back, and a ton of experience as well. Three of the spots feel pretty solidified, assuming everyone comes back healthy. Barring something unforeseen, expect to see Ashton Craig at center, Billy Schrauth at left guard, and Aamil Wagner at right tackle.
I feel pretty confident, as of now, that both Anthonie Knapp and Charles Jagusah will have an inside track to start as well. The biggest question mark is which positions they end up playing. My pick would be for Jagusah to land at left tackle, but nothing would surprise me. I’m sure Guerby Lambert will be a part of the battle as well, but he feels more like a 2026 breakout to me.
Who is the quarterback in 2025?
There have been some transfer portal quarterback rumors out there the last few weeks, and they have continued to have been denied by trusted sources. The plan is for Notre Dame to go into the offseason with the room they have and let them battle. I expect Steven Angeli to get the early first team reps, but eventually CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey vault themselves over him. It will be one of those youngsters in the end. Most will clamor for Carr, but don’t forget about Minchey. It should be an exciting battle.
Marcus Freeman gets applauded by prominent CFB analyst while simultaneously showing the true colors of former Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly
People are starting to take notice.
2025 freshman breakouts
I think the secondary is a big group to watch. With Xavier Watts, Benjamin Morrison, Jordan Clark, and Rod Heard all off to the NFL, opportunity will be there. Safety JaDon Blair is the first player I have circled. It wouldn’t shock me at all if he was starting at some point in 2025. I expect to see Dallas Golden get opportunities inside at nickel as well. Alabama graduate transfer DeVonta Smith is obviously the front runner for that position, but Golden might be too hard to keep off the field.
A sleeper to watch is tight end James Flanigan. Eli Raridon and Cooper Flanagan will be returning, but each have dealt with some injuries in the past. If Flanigan is able to earn reps over Arkansas transfer Ty Washington, then he could have a chance to contribute in a big way.
Defensive line breakouts
Bryce Young is an easy one, but I do expect him to take a massive step forward. With both Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore coming back from injury as well, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Loghan Thomas make a big jump as well. He’s a super talented pass rusher, which Notre Dame needs more of.
Also keep a close eye on defensive tackle Armel Mukam. I was expecting to see more of Mukam this season, but he should make a massive jump this offseason. He’s a really clean mover for being over 300 pounds. I wouldn’t be surprised for him to fight for a starting spot either.
Playoff impact on recruiting
I believe it will have a big impact in the 2026 recruiting class almost immediately. We have already seen the Irish have a bigger impact in places like Florida, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina since Marcus Freeman took over. The missing piece was seeing Notre Dame beat one of those elite programs, and now we have seen it.
Kedren Young’s development
The preseason injury to Kedren Young probably set him back a bit. As long as he’s ready to roll, I expect him to have a big offseason. Whether Jadarian Price returns or not will have a big impact on how high Young could rise this offseason. If Price does come back, I think it’ll be a stiff battle between Aneyas Williams and Young to be that de facto third guy on the depth chart.
Are we satisfied?
Being happy about the projection of the program, and being satisfied are very different things. At the end of the day, I would not at all be satisfied if Notre Dame loses to Penn State. I believe they are the better team, and losing to them would be a disappointing end to a great season. Win the game, and then see what happens in the championship. Always grateful, never satisfied.
PFF analyst-turned Notre Dame staffer catching attention for the wrong reasons during Marcus Freeman’s key decisions vs. Georgia
A terrible assumption was made about Notre Dame.
