Notre Dame has its 2026 captains.
Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen and senior safety Adon Shuler headline the group as two-time captains after both served in the role a year ago.
Junior quarterback CJ Carr and senior receiver Jordan Faison round out the group as the offensive captains for the 2026 season.
While Notre Dame might have voted on its four captains this week, the leadership has been in place throughout the offseason as the Fighting Irish look to rebound from last year’s disappointment.
Leading a program is a balancing act, and Shuler learned how to handle that responsibility last fall.
“Just embracing the role and just making sure the guys know that the leadership doesn't just always have to come from me and Drayk,” explained Shuler. “Everybody can lead, everybody has their role and just making sure everybody knows that their role is important.”
Bowen has seemingly been destined to become a multi-year captain since his recruitment.
The Indiana native was not only the face of his recruiting class, but he helped hold the group together when Brian Kelly left Notre Dame for LSU.
Bowen also embraced learning from former Irish captain JD Bertrand as a freshman, and he still carries those lessons with him three years later.
“He taught me a lot of lessons about football, but also just being a leader of when to get into somebody, when not to,” said Bowen. “I learned how to talk to different people, but also not having to say something all the time, just kind of let your actions speak for themselves.”
Carr returns for his second season as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, making him a natural choice to serve as a captain.
Yet Carr doesn’t carry himself like the face of the program, and most would never know he holds one of the most prominent positions in college football.
But that doesn’t mean Carr takes the responsibility lightly.
“This is the greatest university in the country and you're playing the greatest sport in America,” Carr explained. “It's a huge deal. I'm super grateful to be here and be the starting quarterback at Notre Dame and get to come out here every day and play with my best friends and hang out and be in the locker room and be one of the guys.
“I think other people look at it or ask that question as a big deal from the outside perspective. From that way, it's noise at the end of the day. What matters is the guys in that building and the opinions that they have of you.”
Faison led the Irish in receiving last season with 49 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns.
Perhaps the biggest indication of his commitment to the program came when he made the difficult decision to give up lacrosse and focus exclusively on football. It wasn’t an easy choice, but it put Faison in a position to take on an even greater leadership role.
“You obviously want to be the leader of men on your team,” said Faison. “You want guys to look up to you. I'm still going to fill that role as a leader and as an older guy on the team.”
Notre Dame has its captains for the fall, but don’t expect much to change.
The messaging has been laid out since the program returned to campus in January.
“Don't feed into the noise,” stated Shuler. “I would say that's kind of the biggest thing. None of that is gonna change the past, but all we can do is build for the future and just get one percent better every day.
“Just don't leave it to the judges. We know every play, every opportunity we get to go on the field and practice in meetings, we have to be intentional about it.”
