Notre Dame football youngsters that fans are most excited to see on Saturday against Northern Illinois
Notre Dame football is set to host Northern Illinois for their first home game of the year on Saturday. While the Huskies are a talented MAC team, the Irish are expected to take care of business. Obviously getting the starters good reps, and experience success, is paramount for the future of the program. This game […]
Notre Dame football is set to host Northern Illinois for their first home game of the year on Saturday. While the Huskies are a talented MAC team, the Irish are expected to take care of business. Obviously getting the starters good reps, and experience success, is paramount for the future of the program.
This game is also a great opportunity for some younger Irish players to get experience on Saturday. There are a few that I’m excited to see get a chance to play. Here are the five players I’m most looking forward to seeing.
QB Kenny Minchey
If Riley Leonard plays the entirety of this football game, something has gone very, very wrong. Behind Leonard, you should expect Steve Angeli to be the first quarterback to get some reps, but fans want to see the younger signal callers get some run in this game. Whether it’s CJ Carr or Minchey, both players would be great to see. Carr will be the popular choice but I’m actually most intrigued to see Minchey, who had a lot of momentum during fall camp. Who will be the future of the program heading into the 2025 season? These types of chances to see live reps can begin painting that picture. Let’s get these young arms in the game, and see what the program has under center.
RB Aneyas Williams
After the first game against Texas A&M, everyone knows how talented the duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are. We are still waiting to get our first glimpse of the stud freshman behind those two, Kedren Young and Aneyas Williams. The latter, while not quite as physically gifted, has been very impressive this offseason. There is a good chance he could be the first youngster we see in the backfield. For people who don't follow recruiting, you probably don’t remember just how good Williams was at Hannibal. During that career, he had over 150 career touchdowns. Williams brings an all around skill set that could be fun to see on Saturday.
WR Micah Gilbert
Head coach Marcus Freeman referenced by Gilbert by name this week as a guy who could be a player who sees snaps this week. Gilbert was a player that people were raving about in the Spring, but the buzz died down once we got to the fall. Boasting a big frame at 6-2 and 205 pounds, the North Carolina native has always been ready to play. Seeing him with some opportunity this weekend would be a nice preview for things to come long term.
EDGE Bryce Young
I’ll raise you one North Carolina standout, and raise you another. Funny enough, Young and Gilbert were high school teammates, and very good friends. At a listed 6-7 and 258 pounds, there isn’t a more physically impressive defensive lineman on the roster than Young. He is still pretty raw technically but the physical gifts are incredible. I’ll have close eyes on No. 30 this weekend against Northern Illinois. Young could be a player that earns some important reps down the stretch of the season.
DT Armel Mukam
An often forgotten member of the defensive line room, Mukam had a strong finish to the offseason for Notre Dame. After playing defensive end in high school, Mukam has now ballooned to the 6-3, 302-pound defensive tackle that you see today. He is twitchy and powerful, and has a chance to be very good down the road. I expect Mukam to get a lot of reps this week, and we should get a deeper understanding of the role he could grow into this fall.
