Notre Dame wrapped up fall camp over the weekend, named captains and a quarterback, which means the focus now fully turns to No. 10 Miami.
There were several position battles and that includes the right guard spot between Sullivan Absher and Guerby Lambert.
Who made a move over the first three weeks of August? We’ll skip one in defensive lineman Jayson Onye, as head coach Marcus Freeman gave perhaps the most glowing review one can give by saying his senior had the best camp he’s seen during his time at Notre Dame.
RB NOLAN JAMES JR.
It’s probably a name most wouldn’t expect to read, but dating back to the spring, James’ name has consistently come up in conversations. The Notre Dame running back room is very deep and the first two spots are locked down by Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, but coming out of camp, the No. 3 spot appears to be more open than most thought.
Sophomore Kedren Young was lost for the year with an ACL injury and then classmate Aneyas Williams has been slowed by an elbow issue. Junior Gi’Bran Payne is back from an ACL injury he suffered last fall and looked more than fine in our viewings.
That said, James can do it all. He demonstrated his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield in the spring game with three catches for 60 yards. As a runner, the New Jersey native doesn’t have the speed of Love or Price, but he’s far from slow. Kyren Williams didn’t have an issue with getting caught from behind and that’s the comparison here.
Will James play in 2025? That’s to be determined, but it’s hard not to see him be involved in some type of capacity. There are benefits to redshirting him, but you also play the best players, which Marcus Freeman and his staff have done.
If James can find a role in this room, the future is very bright for him and Ja’Juan Seider’s room.
| ”Nolan James has come in and put himself in a position to get on the football field. I mean, he's very competitive. He's very skilled. He's in a loaded room full of very good players as well, but he's a good football player himself. And what that role looks like is yet to be determined, but one thing's pretty clear that he's got a good feel for the run game. He's tough as nails and can make plays out of the backfield, catching the football. He falls right in line with what else is in that room, which is a great thing.” - Mike Denbrock |
WR ELIJAH BURRESS and WR LOGAN SALDATE
Both names came up multiple times during fall camp for their performances in 11-on-11 periods. They probably wouldn’t have made this list if they made plays in 7-on-7 and not team, but that’s not the case.
Speed is the name of the game and both players have a second gear. The other trait Burress and Saldate have is the ability to get out of breaks effortlessly.
Saldate was moved to varsity during the season last fall and has been with them ever since. Burress enrolled early, so he gained a head start.
How much will either play this year? That’s also to be determined. Jaden Greathouse and Will Pauling will work in the slot ahead of Saldate, while Jordan Faison will be the starter at field with KK Smith behind him. It’s likely Pauling and/or Greathouse could get some work at the field over Burress to start the year, too.
If one or both are ready, it wouldn't be a shock to see Mike Denbrock work them into a package here and there. It’s easier to master 5-10 plays and build off that. At a minimum, I’d expect them to get reps early in blowouts. It’s easy to sneak them into the game with the first-team offense up 24 points in the third quarter.
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“Elijah is a freshman who is incredibly frustrating because from a skill level standpoint, he's elite. He understands football. He understands how to break people down in space, but I can't quite get him to learn and master the playbook quite yet. So I can't get him lined up enough as consistently as I need to, for him to actually show the talent that he's got. So there's a lot of good there, a lot of good things and he's going to be a really good football player for us.” - Mike Denbrock |
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“Those would be the guys you’re talking about. Fifth, sixth, seventh. Those are the guys who really have done an excellent job of improving, right. There’s been days they’ve been with the ones. Days they’ve been with the twos but I think they’ve done a really good job of gaining confidence from our offensive coordinator, the quarterbacks and everybody else. So, I’ve been really pleased with (them). Logan Saldate's done a good job, but I think all those guys are improving, and we gotta figure out what we're gonna do in terms of getting them on the field.” - Marcus Freeman on KK smith, Elijah Burress, Micah Gilbert and Logan Saldate |
DE LOGHAN THOMAS
The sophomore defensive end worked his way into the rotation at times last year, which was partly out of need due to injuries. At 6-foot-4, 220 pounds, the Texas native still has to add weight, but there’s no denying his speed coming off the edge and that’s what will get him on the field.
Does Notre Dame want Thomas playing 20-25 plays a game? Probably not. Do they want him on the field in 3rd-and-long situations? There’s a role there. If you talk to folks, Notre Dame feels they can go six-deep at defensive end and Thomas is part of the at crew.
The biggest hurdle for him will be Notre Dame’s linebackers being used off the edge on third down. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaylen Sneed have proven they can be effective off the edge, while Drayk Bowen specifically worked on edge rushing in the offseason.
Another piece to the puzzle is defensive coordinator Chris Ash. Will he use as many personnel packages as Al Golden? Probably not, as Golden had a package for just about every situation and personnel grouping. That was a positive at times and likely a negative at times in terms of allowing players to play fast and not rush in and out of the game.
Regardless, Thomas has a skill set that Ash can use and that Notre Dame needs.
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”He’s definitely one of those guys. I think he’s explosive. Long. And he is putting on weight. Even last year I think he had couple sacks but his percentage and production was pretty high in the few reps he had. He’s one of those guys—there’s a whole slew of guys and I think he’s right up there near the top.” - Al Washington |
S TAE JOHNSON
This might be cheating a bit as Johnson’s strong spring and fall camp have been well documented. The Fort Wayne native provides athleticism and playmaking, which the secondary needs following the departure of Xavier Watts.
The key for Johnson will be consistency and playing within the structure of the defense. That comes with experience, which he doesn’t have a ton of at this point. A year ago, Johnson worked at cornerback and got spot time after returning from an injury. And playing corner speaks volumes for the athlete Notre Dame is going to have roaming in the secondary.
Outside of his athletic traits, Johnson’s biggest strength is that he can play in space or in the box. In the spring, we saw him make plays in space and then fly into the backfield to make a tackle for loss. In the first practice of fall camp, Johnson intercepted a pass over the middle and then made one of the more freakish interceptions I’ve seen on a ball trying to be lofted over him.
Notre Dame won’t have to overload him with Adon Shuler, Luke Talich and Jalen Stroman in the fold, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Johnson starting by the end of the year.
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“Sky is the limit. Skies the limit. He can do anything he wants to do. He’s athletic. He can be a special talent.” - Mike Mickens |
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