Notre Dame wasn’t an underdog last year by any means. They came into the season projected ninth in SP+ and the projections also said they would have a top-10 offense and defense.
They did that and made the College Football Playoff, so we can definitively say that they met the expectations they had coming into last season. Making it to the CFP Championship game was not something most would have predicted. They broke through what most people thought their ceiling was and a big reason for it that was certain individuals exceeding expectations.
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price were supposed to be a good one-two combination in the backfield for Notre Dame. They raised the ceiling of last year’s team with just how good they ended up being. Love proved to be comparable to the most elusive backs in college football over the last few years. Price led all Power 4 backs in yards after contact per rush (4.50).
There was a ton of positive buzz about Leonard Moore as a freshman last summer and he exceeded any hype that surrounded him. Losing an elite corner like Ben Morrison for the season would have crushed the hopes of a lot of programs. Moore stepped in and didn’t miss a beat. He had 17 total havoc plays and was one of the best corners in the country.
Those players helped raise the ceiling for Notre Dame last season and there are others who can do the same for them this fall. Established returning starters are excluded from this list, but everyone else is eligible and there’s a number of intriguing choices who could potentially make a huge impact on Notre Dame winning a championship this fall (with some sleepers thrown in as well).
Edges Bryce Young and Boubacar Traore
Traore would have been on this type of list prior to last season and he was well on his way to having the kind of season that would have elevated Notre Dame’s pass rush. He had seven total havoc plays and nine pressures in less than four and a half games (133 snaps). His role was only going to grow as the season progressed as well after Jordan Botelho went down with an injury.
Now he’ll get another crack at it. He has special traits as a pass rusher.
Young was one of the beneficiaries of the injuries at defensive end last season and he ended up playing 374 snaps as a true freshman. His improvement was obvious over the second half of the season and he’s poised to breakout in 2025 with all of that experience.
He’s even more of a physical freak in year two. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he has a meteoric rise in his second season much like Stephon Tuitt as a sophomore at Notre Dame. Young and Traore together could end up being huge factors for the Irish.
LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa
KVA had a strong freshman season that was interrupted by a knee injury late in the year. He was one of only four freshmen Power 4 linebackers to play 300+ snaps and he had the highest PFF grade of the four.
A big game player for powerhouse St. John Bosco in high school, he wasn’t at all afraid of the moment despite his youth. He came through with a clutch sack in the second half against Lousiville, led Notre Dame in pressures with three against Penn State in the Orange Bowl, and had his highest snap count of the year in the national championship game against Ohio State.
He’s a sleeker version of the player he was last year and though the linebacker position is stacked with talent, he should create an even larger role for himself in 2025. It wouldn’t be surprising to see his total havoc (4.5) triple this season.
Sleeper: LB Kahanu Kia
True freshman Madden Faraimo could be included here as well, but Kia is someone to watch out for who isn’t being talked about much. He was dynamite in the 2024 Blue-Gold game with 12 tackles and two tackles for loss after he had just returned from his two-year mission.
He tore his ACL last summer, so we didn’t get to see if he could force his way into the mix. He’s back healthy and we’ll see if he can end up as one of the surprise defenders for Notre Dame in 2025.
WR Will Pauling
There are already sky high expectations for transfer Malachi Fields and he’s generated a lot of positive buzz since he arrived on campus in June. He’s been excluded from here because he has back to back seasons of over 800 yards against ACC competition. He has less to prove than someone like Pauling.
Pauling had production at the Power 4 level as well and maybe someone who finished second in the Big Ten in catches (74) in 2023 shouldn’t be included here either. The reason he is has to do with his numbers dipping as he fought through injuries last season and the number of drop passes for him increased. He also missed a good chunk of spring ball while recovering from surgery.
There have been a lot of good reviews with how he has looked this summer, though. Right now he’s considered in Notre Dame’s top-four receivers, but is distinctly at four. He can be better than that and has the speed (4.39 40) and strength to make plays after the catch.
He’s not going to have the same volume he had in ‘23, but if he plays at the level he did then, Notre Dame’s passing game will get a big boost.
Sleeper: Cam Williams
Williams made good progress with a ton of added reps this spring while he worked at the boundary. While it didn’t get to the point where people have predicted him to be the big play stud that Notre Dame fans hope he’ll become, it was enough to show he’s clearly headed in the right direction.
We’ll see if he can take that next step this summer and become someone who can’t be denied playing time with the top group on offense. The traits are there for him to be a threat on any given play and this is a huge season for his development.
DT Jason Onye
Much like Traore, this was in the process of happening last season. Onye only played in five games and missed the rest of the season dealing with his mental health. There was a question of whether or not he’d be back with the team this season, but he was practicing this spring and had similar exciting flashes as a pass rusher to the ones he showed last season.
His 42.9% win rate versus true pass sets would have been first out of any Power 4 defensive tackles last season. He had 2.5 havoc plays and a blocked field goal in the first five games. Specifically in his last three three games, his game had taken off. He had 10 total pressures and was extremely disruptive.
Sleepers: Armel Mukam and Cole Mullins
Before fall camp starts, Mukam and Mullins are probably on the outside of Notre Dame’s defensive tackle rotation. That doesn’t mean that they won’t force themselves into the conversation at some point this season or get opportunities because of injuries at the position.
They both made positive moves in the spring. Mukam had some explosive moments as a pass rusher and Mullins displayed tremendous twitch going up against guards in one on ones. They are two to watch this fall.
Safety Tae Johnson
It’s quite possible that Johnson could be this year’s Adon Shuler. Shuler was never supposed to be the starter last season, but he grabbed a hold of it before Rod Heard even arrived on campus and then proceeded to play well as a first year starter.
Johnson earned a spot getting some work in with the first team at safety with Shuler this spring. He’ll be competing with Luke Talich and transfer Jalen Stroman for that starting spot in August.
Johnson kept showing up and making plays. He’s developed a lot in the past year, both physically and mentally. He has star potential and if that happens for him sooner than later, it could be huge for a defense that will have to replace two time All-American Xavier Watts.
Sleeper: CB/Nickel Karson Hobbs
Hobbs would be considered the third corner and backup at nickel right now, but the progress he made from the season to the end of spring might make him more than that. Hobbs shined in the Blue-Gold game, but that was more of what he’d been doing for the duration of spring.
Notre Dame primarily played two corners last season, but they could really use someone to step up and be starter quality as the next option. Hobbs may prove to be that and provide some of what Heard did as another option at nickel or possibly get into the mix in Notre Dame’s Dime package.
He may not be a starter. He still may be a playmaker.
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