Notre Dame beat Michigan to the pledge of the nation's No. 6 running back prospect when four-star recruit Javian Osborne announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish on Saturday Osborne, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound rusher from Forney, Texas, is ESPN's No. 81 overall prospect in the 2026 class One of the nation's most productive high school running backs he lands as the third-ranked pledge in coach Marcus Freeman's 2026 class following visits to Notre Dame and Michigan last month Osborne told ESPN that this comfort with the program built across multiple trips to campus and the Fighting Irish's tradition of developing top running backs and offensive line talent were driving factors in his decision "They're known for running the ball and Notre Dame is O-line U," Osborne said "They have a lot of great guys that went there and went to the NFL What running back wouldn't want to be part of a program that breeds offensive linemen?" has tallied 4,522 career rushing yards across his first three varsity seasons at Forney High School The Texas District 7-5A D-I Offensive Newcomer of the Year as a freshman Osborne exploded for 2,231 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns in an exceptionally productive sophomore season in 2023 He averaged more than 6.5 yards per carry during his junior campaign finishing with 1,227 rushing yards and 25 scores last fall Miami and SMU were also among the most prominent programs involved in Osborne's recruitment Osborne told ESPN that attending college "up north" was a priority in his process and he narrowed his finalists to the Fighting Irish and Wolverines in late March before closing his recruitment with visits to both schools on back-to-back weekends in April ahead of his Notre Dame pledge on Saturday but you have to go where your heart is," Osborne said that can't help you when it's fourth-and-goal and you have to score I fell in love with the school and the program." the program's most recent ESPN 300 running back signee USA; Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash adjusts his headset during the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn ImagesMichael Caterina-Imagn Images One name very familiar to Notre Dame fans made the list, seeing new defensive  coordinator Chris Ash come in at No doesn’t come from the hire head coach Marcus Freeman just made for Ash to replace the departed Al Golden this inclusion is due to what Coach Ash did as head coach of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights from 2016-19 and what earned him a lot on this unfortunate list.  15. Chris Ash, Rutgers (2016-19) When Coach Golden left for the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason Coach Golden had left this defensive roster and system in a very good place He has walked into a room with loads of talent from the top to bottom.  Coach Ash is also surrounded by a lot of great defensive mind who was considered one of the very best defensive minds in college football during his coordinator career He also has the chance to lean on secondary coach Mike Mickens as Coach Ash navigates the transition very good defense heading into the 2025 season.  Roberts has a long track record of evaluating prospects at a high level on the media and consulting side He has also covered Notre Dame football and college football over the years sharing his passion for the game and sharing his unique perspective a long with the players we root for every Saturday and Sunday.  and the always loveable "way too early" rankings that would be pressed out the second the national championship game ended Now the post-spring rankings have taken off as the world continues to need numbers next to a team's name to know how good they are certainly not by trusting what they see personally With that in mind, Joel Klatt of Fox Sports released his post-spring top 25 on Monday and has Notre Dame in a spot that would seem to make it well-within national championship contending range yet again Below are Klatt's rankings along with a thought on each grouping from me Indiana Head Coach Curt Cignetti watches as the Hoosiers get ready before the start of the Indiana football spring game at Memorial Stadium on Thursday / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images25 IndianaOklahoma and Auburn both look to rebound after disappointing years while Indiana looks to double up last season's magic I can see one of Oklahoma or Auburn bouncing back and making noise in the SEC but based off where both are coming from expecting both to contend for eight regular season wins (what a ranking would require) feels like a bit of a reach USA; Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal celebrates with Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa (61) and tight end Elijah Arroyo (8) after the game against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Hard Rock Stadium Kansas StateIs a bit lower expectations what Lane Kiffin actually needs to get over the hump at Ole Miss and is this the year Mario Cristobal can finally put it all together and bring "The U" back Carson Beck is a veteran but ishe really enough Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (0) runs downfield after a catch against BYU safety Raider Damuni (3) during the first half at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Nov / Patrick Breen/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images15 South CarolinaJust how close does Klatt see the Big 12 this year Four of his five ranked conference teams take up the 14-17 spots with Baylor just cracking the top 25 Another competitive year coming for the conference but one that doesn't seem to have a true championship contender USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) runs with the ball during the second half against Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Gi'Bran Payne (3) at Caesars Superdome Notre DameIs Illinois the Indiana of 2024 Notre Dame getting the edge over three SEC powerhouses speaks to the national respect last season's title game run meant for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish Of those closely leveled SEC teams though I'm not sure I'm putting my trust behind the Brian Kelly backed team before Kirby Smart or Kalen DeBoer's USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin leads the team out before the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium Penn State will be loaded but national championship level loaded after losing both tight end Tyler Warren and all-world edge Abdul Carter I'm sold on Penn State as a playoff caliber team but considering quarterback Drew Allar couldn't complete a single pass to a wide receiver in the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame and Oregon will all be loaded with talent again but of the five I actually find myself feeling the best about Clemson headed to 2025 currently The numbers are fun to see next to each team's name but just fast-forward and think about how when the actual preseason rankings come out we'll quickly all say how they don't mean anything I don't like to make any grand takeaways from such things but if you're wondering if Notre Dame has realistic national championship chances in 2025 consider the fact Klatt has Penn State ranked atop the list despite the Irish not only beating the Nittany Lions but also not losing as much top-end talent to the draft The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER and after commitments around the nation — including two for the Fighting Irish — the Irish remain in that spot and are closing in on No On Friday and Saturday, the Irish landed commitments from linebacker Kobe Clapper and running back Javian Osborne Osborne is Notre Dame’s second-highest ranked commit of its 2026 class Six of the Irish’s 14 commitments have occurred since April Notre Dame ranked outside the top 10 prior to the spring and surged into the No 4 spot and are on the heels of overtaking Ohio State at No There’s quite the gap between the Fighting Irish and Aggies with the score of Mike Elko‘s squad at 92.137 10 four-stars committed and a trio of three-stars in the class The blue-chip ratio for the class sits at a strong 79 percent It’s obviously very early in the 2026 cycle with less than seven months until National Signing Day in December But the way On3 does its team rankings (more on that later) is meant to try to give an more accurate picture on what it all could look like at the end of the cycle rather than have a ranking that favors who has the most commitments This cycle marks Marcus Freeman’s fourth full recruiting class as Notre Dame head coach. In 2023, the Irish signed the No. 10 class, and Notre Dame had the No. 11 group in America back in the 2024 cycle. And for the 2025 class, the slight downward rankings trend continued, as Notre Dame signed the No. 12 group. For what it’s worth, Freeman was the defensive coordinator for the 2022 cycle and then head coach for the last few weeks before signing day. The Irish signed the No. 6 class that year. Top 101Trump, SabanDuo's NIL order blasted Hot32026 NFL Mock DraftTodd McShay looks ahead By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms and use of my personal information described therein Below is a look at the top 10 schools according to the 2026 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings The On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking utilizes all four major recruiting media companies: On3 Instead of a total points system like at Rivals the On3 Industry Team Ranking uses a score average of the player rankings which solves the problem of varying class sizes during the recruiting cycle It compiles the highest-rated commits for each team up to a total based on a rolling average of current total commitments among Power Five schools The current average number of commits in the 2026 class used in the rankings score is 7 This means that of Notre Dame’s 14 commitments only the seven highest-ranked players are used for the rankings score To further explain that point: Notre Dame’s 14 commits have an average recruit rating of 90.93 but that is not the score used in the team ranking Only Notre Dame’s top seven commits are being used in the Industry Team Ranking and the Irish’s score with that group is 92.673 — this is the number used for the class ranking With this model, there are no bonus points for having more commitments than other teams, and only small deductions occur when a team has fewer commitments than the rolling average. Unlike distribution (bell) curves, this model doesn’t disproportionately weight a team’s top three or four highest-rated commits and is a more accurate representation of an entire class. Here are today’s Lucky Charms, a Monday-Thursday insider notes article on Notre Dame football recruiting.... Blue & Gold has the latest intel on eight Notre Dame Fighting Irish football recruiting targets in Chicagoland. Get the latest scoop in Monday's Gold... Ayden Pouncey committed to the Irish. What do the experts think about the newest addition to Notre Dame’s 2026 class?... Bastrop (Texas) High class of 2026 defensive lineman Tiki Hola is coming off his SMU official visit, and Notre Dame is battling.... Here is where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish staff visited Friday according to Blue & Gold sources. Mike Denbrock had a big stop.... Notre Dame is up to 14 commitments and ranks inside the top five of the national team recruiting rankings. Who could be next to join the Irish?... Notre Dame offered highly ranked 2027 Georgia EDGE Justin Weeks. He broke down his Fighting Irish offer with Blue & Gold.... Forney (Texas) High running back Javian Osborne announced his commitment to Notre Dame over Michigan on Saturday evening.... Forney (Texas) High four-star RB Javian Osborne committed to Notre Dame. Here are five thoughts on his addition to the Irish 2026 class.... Running back Javian Osborne has committed to the Irish. What do the experts think about the newest addition to Notre Dame’s 2026 class?... Notre Dame is not giving up on flipping Penn State running back commitment Messiah Mickens. Ja'Juan Seider visited him on Saturday.... Cincinnati St. Xavier four-star LB Kobe Clapper discusses his Notre Dame football commitment in an exclusive interview with Blue & Gold.... On April 21, Rosharon (Texas) Iowa Colony class of 2026 wide receiver Jayden Warren added Notre Dame to his offer sheet, which caught him by surprise.... 2026 four-star LB Kobe Clapper verbally committed to Notre Dame on Friday. Here are five thoughts on his addition to the Irish class.... Cincinnati St. Xavier four-star linebacker Kobe Clapper has announced his commitment to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.... Notre Dame football is recruiting 2027 EDGE Dawoud Issa, who is from Saline (Mich.) High. He attends the same school that produced CJ Carr.... Here is where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football staff visited Thursday according to Blue & Gold sources.... Notre Dame football is an early top school for 2027 On300 four-star LB Garyon Hobbs. He explained why in an interview with Blue & Gold.... The Notre Dame coaching staff started hitting the road Monday for the spring evaluation period, and it's gone over well with the recruits they're... Elite 2027 four-star recruit Honor Fa'alave-Johnson added a Notre Dame offer on Pot of Gold Day. He discussed his interest in the Irish in an... Aledo (Texas) High wide receiver Kaydon Finley is high on Notre Dame, Texas and others heading into a crucial time of his recruitment.... The Notre Dame football program has furthered its momentum on the recruiting trail. Here is five things we learned about the Irish in April.... Notre Dame defensive line coach Al Washington has things cooking up in the 2026 class. Blue & Gold has the latest.... On3 is a registered trademark of On3 Media Notre Dame’s search for additional receivers in the Class of 2026 is heavily focused on the state of Texas right now and this past Thursday, Irish receivers coach Mike Brown made the trip down to check in on 2026 Texas receiver Brayden Robinson‍ just talking about life,” Robinson said of himself and Brown but just making sure everything is good personally.” Robinson has been a high priority for the Irish for months and even with two commits in the fold at the position for the Irish now with Dylan Faison‍ and Bubba Frazier‍ Notre Dame continues to make it known how valued Robinson is “It feels great,” said Robinson “It feels like I'm still a priority for them The message from the Irish to the 5-foot-8 165-pound speedster has been a consistent one “That they need speed and they feel like with my versatility I can bring a lot to the table,” Robinson said of what he’s heard from Brown.  “He sees me as a true receiver despite me being a shorter guy and stuff like that.” Robinson said he “most definitely” sees what Notre Dame is talking about regarding his on-field fit.  “I've seen how they used Tre Tucker when they were in Cincinnati,” he said referring to the current Las Vegas Raiders receiver who was coached by Brown and Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock in college “That's somebody with a similar playing style as me in the same offense with Coach Denbrock so I don't see why I couldn't.” who has made two trips to South Bend this year was at Miami for a recent unofficial visit.  “Obviously you're in a great city but the people definitely made it more memorable It definitely exceeded my expectations going into the visit.” The Hurricanes definitely opened his eyes and joined the Irish at the top of his board.  “I feel like Miami and Notre Dame are 1A and 1B right now,” he said Robinson will announce his college decision on his mother’s birthday he’ll take official visits to Notre Dame He’s looking to get a feel for more than football on his next trip to South Bend “There's really nothing to see from the football aspect I want to make sure I get the right feel for everything That's what it's going to come down to; just seeing how I vibe around the coaching staff and the players.” Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD ShopLas Vegas Aces 2025) — The Las Vegas Aces rolled past Dallas on Friday night at Notre Dame for the first preseason game of the 2025 WNBA season Fighting Irish alumni Jackie Young led all scorers with 28 points and dished out 9 assists and Jewell Loyd scored in double figures with 10 points while A’ja Wilson recorded 19 points in the Aces preseason win Rounding out the double-digit scorers were rookie Aaliyah Nye with 17 Chelsea Gray had 13 and Tiffany Mitchell chipped in 10 points Photos | Highlights | Box Score The Aces largest lead was 34 points, which came at the end of the game following a Kelly jumper with 18.7 seconds to play. Fighting Irish alum Young and Loyd combined for 38 points. The Aces out score the Wings 20-8 in second-chance points, while the Wings outscored the Aces 30-24 in the paint and 11-9 in the fast break. The Aces held a 40-28 rebounding advantage. Four out of five starters scored in double digits. The Aces will then open the 2025 regular season on the road at New York on Saturday, May 17, at 10 a.m. PT on ABC. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website Merriweather played last season at California after spending 2022 and 2023 at Notre Dame The Washington state native is staying in the west as he has decided to continue his college football career at Utah Merriweather will have one year of eligibility remaining with the Utes He caught 11 passes for 125-yards and one score last year at California after battling an early in-season injury He caught 15 passes and scored three touchdowns during his two seasons at Notre Dame Utah finished last season 5-7 after entering it being viewed as one of the favorites in the Big 12 Ryan Day's team suffered a setback at the hands of the same opposition Ohio State had been one of several programs in the mix for four-star linebacker Jakobe Clapper (Cincinnati Clapper is the No. 30 ranked linebacker in the 2026 class, per On3's industry rankings and Notre Dame had long since been seen as the favorite to land his services Ohio State Buckeye head coach Ryan Day Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images having been recruited by their linebackers coach Max Bullough and defensive coordinator Al Golden Notre Dame has a strong history of sending linebackers to the NFL, with the Jacksonville Jaguars' selection of Jack Kiser this year making it six Fighting Irish linebackers taken in the last seven drafts the Buckeyes can be happy with their linebacker situation Ohio State added two four stars at linebacker in the 2025 class in the form of Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford.  This duo is joining a group that includes 2024 second-team All-Big Ten selection Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese Reese will be looking to step in and fill the shoes left by Cody Simon after he left for the NFL after posting a first-team All-Big Ten season in 2024 If he can do that successfully and one of Pettijohn or Alford shows promise before Styles heads to the pros in 2026 Ohio State won't worry too much about missing out on Clapper To keep the dream of winning a third consecutive national championship alive Notre Dame men’s lacrosse must avenge a loss to an opponent it was already defeated by earlier this season The unseeded Fighting Irish (8-4) begin the 2025 NCAA Tournament on the road at No at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend on March 8 Ohio State is coming off a victory in the Big 10 championship game lost 14-12 to Syracuse in the opening round of the ACC Tournament The Irish had won three games in a row and five of their last six entering the tournament and their last loss to a team not named Syracuse was against Ohio State On the same side of the bracket as the Irish, No. 1 seed Cornell will face the winner of UAlbany and Siena. No. 8 seed North Carolina and Richmond are the possible opponents for Cornell if the Big Red inevitably take out one of the play-in teams, as they should. Cornell is 14-1 and has a 10-game winning streak, the longest in the country, going into the postseason. By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein. In addition to Syracuse, the other side of the bracket features No. 2 seed Maryland, No. 3 seed Princeton and No. 7 seed Duke. The Irish lost to the Terrapins, 11-10, but beat the Blue Devils, 14-7. In addition to the victory over Duke, Notre Dame has wins over North Carolina and Georgetown to make it three triumphs over teams in the NCAA Tournament field. Notre Dame is led by senior Chris Kavnagh‘s 53 points. He also leads the team with 31 goals, which is a higher total than the Irish’s second-leading scorer, Jake Taylor, has points (30). It hasn’t been as high-flying of a season for the Irish as the last two, as evidenced by more losses this year alone than in the last two combined, but when they’re at their best the Irish can still compete at an extraordinarily high level. It’s time to see if they’ve got any of that left in them when it matters most. The Notre Dame men's lacrosse team is once again the class of the conference. That was made evident by Tuesday's awards announcement.... The transfer portal opens this week. This is what Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said about one of the biggest portal stories ever.... On3 national scout Cody Bellaire named Notre Dame QB commit Noah Grubbs a top performer of OT7, Overtime's latest 7-on-7 tournament. Bellaire shared... This is everything Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said following the Fighting Irish's spring scrimmage on Saturday, April 6.... Mundelein (Ill.) Carmel Catholic class of 2027 quarterback Trae Taylor was back at Notre Dame Friday. What's the latest?... There are several questions Notre Dame has to answer before fans can start booking tickets to South Florida for the national championship.... For the first time since enrolling, Notre Dame sophomore Hannah Hidalgo missed a game with the Irish because of an injury. Here's the news.... This story is from April of 2021, shortly after Lou passed away.... In a game that featured three lead changes and countless mood swings, a late fourth-quarter interception by Irish sophomore cornerback Christian Gray... There's a key matchup in Indiana vs. Notre Dame that could decide the game. Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock is very aware of it.... In the first true shootout for Notre Dame this season, the Irish never trailed Saturday in its 49-35 victory over USC, but the game was tied three... Blue & Gold's Tyler Horka took a look at all eight of Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love's touches against Army last week.... Notre Dame’s journey of 10 consecutive must-win games since the loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7, ends Saturday afternoon with one last hurdle to... Happy Thanksgiving, Notre Dame fans. Here are three things Fighting Irish faithful should be grateful for in 2024, from Blue & Gold.... It seems like only yesterday that Notre Dame was upset by Northern Illinois in Game 2 and the Irish season was over before it really ever began.... The Irish never won more than 7 games in any of Faust’s five seasons, and they were unranked more than they were ranked during his 57 games on the... It doesn’t take long to realize that this game between Notre Dame (7-1) and Florida State (1-8) is the odds-on candidate to be the biggest Irish... Notre Dame ranks 4th nationally in scoring defense (12.1 ppg) and has allowed more than 20 points in a game only once this season. Florida State ranks... As Marcus Freeman works through his third season on the Irish sideline, the popular skipper holds up very well compared to Coach Kelly, and many other... Playing out of character, Navy was sloppy with the football Saturday and Notre Dame made them pay in a 51-14 win, the seventh straight victory the... Why should Notre Dame fans be feeling pretty good about what could happen for the Irish against Navy today? Tyler Horka takes you through it.... When No. 12 Notre Dame and No. 24 Navy meet Saturday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the Midshipmen will enter the game 6-0 for the first time since... The No. 12 Irish (6-1) need to turn the page on their solid performance against Georgia Tech, with undefeated and No. 24 Navy (6-0) up next.... Following two weekends of notable upsets around college football — a stretch where Notre Dame rode that shakeup and rose from No. 19 to No. 11 in the... Riley Leonard, Howard Cross: Stanford vs. Notre Dame game balls... This wasn’t the most complicated year to stitch together the Division I men’s lacrosse bracket It doesn’t mean the NCAA committee tasked with doing so took it easy over the weekend “We did have to watch those last few finals,” said Rutgers deputy AD Matthew Colagiovanni We were waiting all the way to the end of the Ivies.” Arguably the biggest was the pairing of Ohio State and Notre Dame in the first round 1 seed and who got the last spot in the field did not go in unexpected directions Which is not to say the latter didn’t occupy a lot of attention It was clear by Friday night — after possible bid-snatching runs by Rutgers and Yale were halted in their conference semifinals after Syracuse solidified its position with a victory over Notre Dame in the ACC semifinals after both Army and Harvard lost league semifinals — which two teams’ resumes would get dissected it was the Crimson that earned a ticket to the Dome to play Syracuse “We spent the most time on those two teams,” Colagiovanni said but that was the one when we first arrived that we looked at the RPI is going to be adjusted and go up and down We looked at that and wanted to make sure we covered everything we could up until we handed the selections in.” The top-seeded Big Red (14-1) are the only team to make it through the regular season with only one loss and it just dropped a combined 41 goals on Yale and Princeton in the Ivy League tournament Cornell has the best player in the country in CJ Kirst but the cast surrounding him — Michael Long With Kirst entering his final postseason and a large senior class ready to head out the door in Ithaca after this postseason the window for the program’s first national title since 1977 isn’t going to get bigger the most in the country and two more than anyone else in the field.  it’s going to require an offense that can win a hectic much like they did when they last appeared in the tournament in 2022 and even if its first-round trip to Rutgers didn’t go well it seemed like that core group would have more opportunities down the road it needs to beat Syracuse in the Dome twice in a season The next team to do that will be the first the last team to win at Syracuse twice in a season was the Onondaga Nation in 1918 The Black Knights’ 16-13 loss to Colgate in the Patriot League semifinals was enough to bump them from the field Army (12-2) had lost only one other time — a 10-9 overtime setback against Boston U on March 22 — but its RPI and strength of schedule deficits relative to Harvard were too much to overcome It’s an excruciating end for a 22-man senior class that includes attackman Jackson Eicher faceoff ace Will Coletti and defenseman AJ Pilate After Army’s trip to the quarterfinals in 2023 it seemed like it could have a multi-year reign in the Patriot consecutive semifinal losses have left the Black Knights numb the last two years The Buckeyes’ reward for winning 14 of their last 15 and claiming both the regular season and conference tournament titles is … a matchup with two-time defending national champion Notre Dame It’ll be a cranky bunch making its way to Columbus maybe the closest thing to even a mild surprise on a fairly sedate night They’re coming off an ACC tournament loss to Syracuse And they lost by a goal to Ohio State two months ago conference rival Penn State — another team that fell to the Buckeyes earlier this season — could be waiting in the quarterfinals If Nick Myers’ bunch makes it to Foxborough Committee Chair Matthew Colagiovanni on Harvard vs The Spiders won’t be daunted by an ACC opponent; they beat Virginia and took Duke to overtime earlier this season And they won’t be bothered by the stage; a good chunk of the roster was in the program when Richmond lost in the first round at Virginia in 2023 and some were around for the 2022 near-miss at Penn which isn’t fun for anyone to contend with There’s also the North Carolina slice of the equation Does the version of the Tar Heels that won at Syracuse to close the regular season show up Or the one that faded against Notre Dame in the second half a week before that and got blitzed by Duke in the ACC semifinals The Tar Heels have some potent offensive options in Owen Duffy and Dominic Pietramala but their offense has had its share of struggles over the last four games Richmond is not a team that is forgiving to offenses trying to rediscover their edge How did the Harvard-vs.-Army comparison get settled a slightly better top victory (Syracuse compared to North Carolina) and a slightly deeper collection of top-20 victories That left Army on the wrong side of things One big unknown: What would that decision have looked like if Army had won Friday and then dropped a conference title game and they kind of hit all the points that we would have said “If they advance a little further in the conference tournament we could have had a little different conversation on it When you go through all the data for Harvard vs and that’s how we went with that selection.” the North Carolina-vs.-Notre Dame comparison looked like it would generate some robust discussion with the Tar Heels (10-4) getting the nod over the Fighting Irish (8-4) despite a 12-6 loss at home in a head-to-head matchup last month and the Spiders will head to Chapel Hill for the tournament’s opening game “They beat Syracuse; Notre Dame lost to Syracuse twice but they ended up with only two top-20 wins That one was all about the metrics and the biggest win on the board The Nittany Lions finished fourth in the RPI Penn State had a victory no one else did: Its March 8 victory at Cornell That was enough to offset Syracuse’s strength of schedule advantage (the Orange was No “The strength of schedule and the RPI for Penn State was really strong,” Colagiovanni said “Penn State was the one team that was able to beat Cornell and they ended up winning their conference Once Syracuse won the conference championship and we felt like Penn State was one step above.” Did Cornell need to win the Ivy League tournament to land the No particularly since the Big Red didn’t vault to No 1 in the RPI until after beating Princeton 20-15 it could have adjusted things,” Colagiovanni said “But looking at Cornell with their seven top-20 wins They had a loss to Penn State and their body of work [was good] but that final decision was today and that made them the clear No And what were the bracket mechanics that landed Notre Dame in Columbus whoever was shipped on the road was going to get a tough matchup Syracuse going to Penn State seemed like a possibility since the distance between the two schools was inside the NCAA’s 400-mile bus trip radius with Notre Dame the team shut out of the home game the committee opted to pair the two schools that would have otherwise required an opponent to use a flight we seed one through eight and then geography comes into position for that,” Colagiovanni said “Then you also have to factor in the ACC teams So we ended up having a bunch of them and several Big Tens that’s what ended up making that matchup occur.” Committee Chair Matthew Colagiovanni on North Carolina earning the No Harvard | Notre Dame at Ohio State | Colgate at Penn State There will be at least three rematches from the regular season in the first round a result that went a long way toward getting the Crimson into the tournament Notre Dame dropped a 10-9 decision to Ohio State on March 8 thanks to Shane O’Leary’s goal with seven seconds to play teams play out of conference,” Colagiovanni said “Our big objective is to not have the conference rematches in this Kudos to some of the teams that go out of conference to play some really good opponents.” If the Great Danes beat Siena on Wednesday The full list of Hoyas to ever produce multiple 60-point seasons: Jake Carraway who has 42 goals and 24 assists in 2025 after a 10-point outburst in the Big East final against Villanova The Northeast Conference player of the year ranks third nationally (and first among those in the postseason) with a .648 faceoff percentage He’ll be a key figure not only in the Colonials’ play-in game but also in the first-round game against Maryland if his team advances so here’s a nod to brothers who have combined for 164 points 47 assists) had 19 points over three Patriot League tournament games while Rory Connor has 47 goals and 32 assists entering the postseason 11 assists) don’t necessarily pop off the page do-everything middie who is one of the Orange’s most valuable players With a nickname like “Big Tasty,” Fyock should already be a household name but his agility and nimbleness are attention-grabbing traits So is a .620 save percentage that should have him in line to be a first team All-America selection The senior has 33 goals and 23 assists on the season and now ranks second on the Irish’s career scoring list with 145 goals He’s also third in school history with 232 points putting three Kavanaghs — including Pat (301) and Matt (225) — in the top four The senior attackman was held without a goal for the first time all season Friday against Princeton collecting 35 goals and 29 assists in getting the Crimson back to the NCAA tournament The presumptive Tewaaraton favorite owns the Division I record for career goals and will look to bookend his career with a second trip to Memorial Day weekend Kirst helped the Big Red reach the national title game before falling to undefeated Maryland The senior’s next goal will break a tie with late 1990s star Jesse Hubbard atop Princeton’s career goals list Mackesy has 40 goals and 15 assists this season as part of a starting attack line that includes three 40-point scorers It’s not every day a short stick shares the ACC’s defensive player of the year honors a nod that does plenty to illustrate just how valuable the junior is He ranks second on the Blue Devils in caused turnovers (26) and also has six goals and four assists as a threat in transition Reynolds found the net 55 times while earning the Metro Atlantic’s player of the year award and leading the Saints to their first NCAA tournament since 2014 The junior from British Columbia had a good week He picked up the America East’s offensive player of the year nod then had back-to-back hat tricks as the Great Danes defeated UMBC and Bryant to earn a second NCAA bid in a row Richmond has 39 goals and 43 assists on the season The Terrapins were a relatively anonymous bunch on close defense entering the season after Ajax Zappitello’s graduation That’s no longer the case thanks to the high-effort Schaller who was one of one of the country’s most consistent defensemen and was the Big Ten’s defensive player of the year The Spiders’ defense isn’t lacking for standouts high-impact long pole Tommy Stull or exceptional short stick Jack Pilling Smith does a bit of everything for an ultra-cohesive unit a group that will get tested by North Carolina’s star attackmen in the first round A deserving winner of the Big Ten’s offensive player of the year award Traynor has 33 goals and 16 assists and is on the cusp of back-to-back 50-point seasons He’s the centerpiece of an offense that features six other players with between 24 and 33 points The sophomore has won 64.3 percent of his draws and gives the Tar Heels a chance to dictate what sort of tempo they’d like to employ He’s arguably Carolina’s most consistent player Moved from midfield to attack early in the season the junior has 46 goals and 22 assists and collected the CAA’s offensive player of the year nod while helping the Tigers plow through the conference without a loss for the second consecutive season Yet another conference’s offensive player of the year helped his team win a league tournament last weekend Yago has 34 goals and 31 assists for the Atlantic Sun champions Maryland makes another national title game The Terrapins have made it to Memorial Day in eight of the 13 tournaments since John Tillman took over the program Maryland is 10-1 in quarterfinals in that span and it defeated both of the seeded teams it might face in a semifinal (Princeton and Syracuse) The Terps’ run to the final a year ago was a surprise given how March and April went for them They won’t be an unexpected title game participant if they make an encore trip For a program whose fans once enjoyed 22 consecutive trips to the semifinals the last dozen years haven’t been much fun Syracuse hasn’t played on the season’s final weekend since 2013 and it hasn’t won a national title since Cody Jamieson’s overtime winner against Cornell on Memorial Day 2009 The Orange missed the 2022 and 2023 tournaments but made it back into the field last season before falling by a goal in the quarterfinals to Denver Continuing an upward trajectory means going a weekend further and the NCAA certainly wouldn’t mind seeing a large band of Syracuse fans buy tickets and make the trip across Interstate 90 to the Boston area in a few weekends Georgetown owns the second-longest active NCAA tournament streak The Hoyas’ seven consecutive Big East titles means they have made the last seven NCAA tournaments which has made all 22 postseasons since the field expanded to 16 in 2003 It’s not as if anyone else is particularly close to Kevin Warne’s program The third-longest active streak belongs to Princeton which has made the last four tournaments since the program resumed play in 2022 after the Covid-19 pandemic effectively shut down the Ivy League for most of 2020 and all of 2021 The Empire State has five teams in the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade Siena and Syracuse matches the largest contingent from the state since 2015 when Marist won the Metro Atlantic rather than Siena and the other four teams in this year’s field also advanced to the postseason The record for any state remains the six teams Maryland sent to the tournament in 2007 (Johns Hopkins Syracuse isn’t playing its traditional 7:30 p.m Ever since ESPN began televising every first round game in 2007 there was one certainty: If Syracuse was hosting it was going to have the late game on Sunday The reason: It’s graduation weekend at the Dome The Orange played 11 first-round home games in that span as Harvard makes its way to Syracuse for a 5 p.m Cornell’s date with either Albany or Siena will instead be the anchor game for the first round There were relatively few teams to delve into this season and the process appeared fairly straight forward The last time a team ranked first in the RPI wasn’t the No Giving the advantage to Penn State in part because it beat Cornell makes sense in no small part due to the Irish’s head-to-head win And it’s debatable how good of an argument it is that the Tar Heels had more wins than Notre Dame when it’s at least partially a function of scheduling two more regular season games the committee stitched together a bracket that might require no first-round flights Play-in participant Air Force goes to Robert Morris on Wednesday but no one else has to get on a plane in the first weekend That compact geography might have made it possible to flip the opponents for Ohio State and Penn State sending Notre Dame to Happy Valley and Colgate to Columbus but it would have been a boost for bracket integrity But outside of Notre Dame (which was going to get a tough matchup against one of those Big Ten teams if it was sent on the road) and Ohio State there shouldn’t be too much grumbling anywhere USA Lacrosse is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt charitable organization (EIN 52-1765246) University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Nicole McNeil University of Notre Dame Professor of Psychology Nicole McNeil recently co-authored a report that examines the best way for children to learn arithmetic — whether that’s by memorizing number values and multiplication tables The report,  “What the Science of Learning Teaches Us About Arithmetic Fluency,”  was published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest and shows that children learn most effectively when instruction follows an evidence‑based cycle: grounding facts in conceptual understanding using brief timed practice to make those facts automatic and then returning to discussion and reflection to deepen that knowledge McNeil, a fellow with the Institute for Educational Initiatives with a primary focus on how children think communicate and solve problems in mathematics In a recent interview for the Association for Psychological Science she discussed the report that deepened understanding of how arithmetic fluency develops why it matters and how educators can help students achieve it “We want to be clear: Educators don’t have to choose between timed practice and rich classroom discussions,” McNeil said in the interview “A carefully structured approach — pairing brief timed sessions that strengthen facts in memory with purposeful reasoning and discussion activities that weave those facts into an integrated knowledge network — gives students the fluency they need to succeed.” Media contact: Carrie Gates, associate director of media relations, c.gates@nd.edu Notre Dame News © 2025 University of Notre Dame Photo by: Duane BurlesonOhio State Seeded Fourth, Hosts NCAA Tournament First Round Sunday5/4/2025 10:44:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse Receive the Latest News & Promotions 14vs12#6/#6 Notre Dame Advances To ACC Title Game5/2/2025 8:25:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse Georgia Beland got into the swing of things at an early age introduced his only child to the game when she was a 6-year-old who is named after her maternal grandfather found the experience enjoyable from the outset “I started out playing at Cyprian Keyes golf camps so it was more like a fun thing to do with my friends at the time,” Beland said May 2 at Notre Dame Academy and he wanted to keep pushing me forward.” Live spring high school schedule, results, line scores and recaps It’s been upward and onward ever since for the 17-year-old Webster resident already a four-time T&G Super Team selection who was honored as the Hometeam Player of the Year in 2021 is off to another terrific start this spring The 5-foot-4 righty has been the medalist in the first seven matches for the Rebels who are 3-3-1 heading into the second half of the season and I try to maintain my streak of being undefeated,” Beland said “I just have to keep practicing and playing There are some really good girls on the circuit who began playing in tournaments and working with swing coach Bob Bruso of Worcester CC when she was 11 is fully invested in expanding and sharpening her skills practice,” be it on the course for sessions that can last up to three hours or in her basement where she hits balls into a net in the morning and putts on a matt in the evening The work has paid off handsomely with steady improvement over the years one example being Beland is currently playing to a 4 handicap after starting last year at 6.8 Beland is long off the tee and seeking to improve her short game “I’m very good at not letting a bad shot get to me,” Beland said “I just move on and go forward and worry about it after the round.” An outstanding student who is currently taking advanced honors classes in microbiology and precalculus and advanced placement classes in English and U.S Beland aspires to golf collegiately at the Division 1 level and has the career goal of becoming an orthodontist The Rebels are seeking to advance to the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season but count just three upperclassmen — senior Lillian Marrone junior Olivia Jarry and Beland — among a squad of 16-plus so we have to encourage them and keep them engaged a captain along with Marrone and sophomore Addison Cutting “Keep the program going and keep golf fun because one of the hardest things about golf is the mental aspect Beland recorded her first hole-in-one two summers ago par-3 17th hole at Indian Pond Country Club in Kingston My irons are dialed right now,’ " said Beland who didn’t see the ball drop into the hole because of a slope in front of the green thinking it may have hit a rock and bounced into a hazard it’s in the hole,’ ” Beland excitedly said And then there was another first — carding a lower round over 18 holes against her dad “I was maybe around 12½ when I beat him for the first time,” Beland said “I remember being so excited because my dad and I are like competitive with each other I overcame it.’ It was a really great feeling and a great moment.” —If you know a student-athlete who should be considered for a Scholastic Spotlight profile, contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com Here are a few lighthearted and insightful thoughts from Georgia Beland while she sizes up her next 8-foot putt for par: ∎ Favorite restaurant: “Pho Sure on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester.” ∎ Favorite musician: “I listen to so many things ∎ Favorite athlete: “I have so many favorite golfers because he just won the (career) Grand Slam.” I’m taking advanced honors microbiology this year and it’s the favorite class I’ve taken at Notre Dame.” ∎ Most memorable moment: “The Central Mass Tournament has been memorable for me every single year I won it in seventh grade and freshman year and was runner-up eighth grade and sophomore year.” ∎ Invite any three people to dinner: “I would invite Justin Thomas because he’s been one of my favorite golfers for years Viktor Hovland for the same reason; he’s been one of my favorites for a while And my dad (Eric) because he’s been my biggest supporter throughout my entire journey.” 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host Notre Dame on May 11 The Buckeyes are 14-2 overall and have piled up a couple of program firsts: After capturing its first Big Ten regular-season championship, Ohio State defeated No. 3 Maryland 14-10 on May 3 in the league tournament to earn its first postseason crown The winner between the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish will advance to the quarterfinal round which will take place May 17-18 at Navy-Marine Corp Stadium in Annapolis More Ohio State lacrosse news: Ohio State lacrosse goalie Caleb 'Big Tasty' Fyock comes up big for Buckeyes Ohio State's game against Notre Dame will be the first NCAA Tournament game to be played at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium It will begin at noon and be televised on ESPN2 This is Ohio State's eighth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2022 The Buckeyes have advanced out of the first round in four of their last five appearances Ohio State was the national runner-up in 2017 (WSBT) — Notre Dame men's lacrosse's possibility of a national championship three-peat is on the table Their chances were slightly hindered by Syracuse's loss in the ACC Tournament semifinal which eliminated the prospect of hosting in the first and second rounds they'll travel to Columbus to begin the Tournament against No "We haven't really played a full 60 minutes to date," Notre Dame senior attackman Chris Kavanagh said "When it comes around to May and the games get more and more important I think you'll see that we'll hunker down and put our best foot forward." The Irish have the skill and power to go for a third straight national championship and need to take advantage of their shot when it matters most "The fact that everything is on the line in every game the fact that you're going to see the best of college lacrosse in this next month it's exciting," Notre Dame Head Coach Kevin Corrigan said last week "Each step you take the games get bigger the attention gets bigger and you really get to see your guys flourish in those kinds of situations." 5 Penn State or Colgate in the second round 2 ranked recruiting class in the country according to Rivals and the class is going to go up after the latest recruiting update from the outlet Most of the recruits in the class made small drops due to other players making a jump but a trio of Irish commits made huge jumps in the latest Rivals update Davison (Mich.) High School offensive lineman Ben Nichols made the biggest jump Nichols was an unranked four-star recruit in the last update by Rivals but after a strong showing at a recent camp he vaulted up the rankings Nichols is now ranked as the nation's No 124 overall player in the country and the No Nichols is the highest ranked newcomer to the rankings making him the biggest riser in the rankings Garner (N.C.) South Garner defensive end Ebenezer Ewetade also made a huge jump He is also ranked as the 14th best edge defender in the class.  Another North Carolina edge - Rodney Dunham - also saw a jump in the latest rankings from Rivals The Charlotte (N.C.) Myers Park standout jumped up 21 spots and is now ranked as the No He is also ranked as the 11th best edge player in the class Notre Dame is currently the only team in the country with a pair of Top 15 edge players in their class Notre Dame's highest ranked commit is Mechanicsburg (Pa.) Cumberland Valley offensive lineman Tyler Merrill, who ranks as the nation's No which is up two spots from the last ranking He is also ranked as the fourth best interior offensive lineman in the class A spot behind Dunham is Lake Mary (Fla.) High School quarterback Noah Grubbs Chattanooga (Tenn.) McCallie School standout cornerback Chaston Smith ranks as the nation's No Matthews (N.C.) Weddington linebacker Thomas Davis Jr. fell six spots to No. 172 overall in the 2026 class. Davis is also ranked as the 13th best linebacker in the country Winter Park (Fla.) High School cornerback Ayden Pouncey was previously ranked as the No 244 overall player but he dropped out of the latest rankings Notre Dame has seven players ranked among the Top 150 players in the country according to Rivals which is tied for LSU with the most in the class Notre Dame and LSU have a combined 24 players committed in the 2026 class while USC has 27 prospects committed which means a much smaller percentage of their class is ranked.  Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge 2025 Scholarship Chart 2025 Football Schedule Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense 2025 Commit Rankings - Defense ——————— which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board BECOME A MEMBER Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter The winner will advance to the NCAA quarterfinals in Annapolis That matchup at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium will be against the winner of the first-round battle between No 5 seed Penn State (10-4) and unseeded Colgate (10-7) coach Kevin Corrigan’s Irish are coming off a 14-12 loss to Syracuse in the ACC Tournament semifinals on May 2 Jordan Faison: How Notre Dame football, lacrosse plan to share Jordan Faison's talents this spring On March 8 at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend Ohio State scored with seven seconds remaining to escape with a 10-9 win That loss was the second straight for the Irish after opening their title defense with a 3-0 start Ohio State enters the NCAA Tournament with a season goal differential of plus-63 Notre Dame is at plus-56 after allowing just 108 goals through 12 games Only Army (105 goals allowed) was stingier at the Division I level but the Black Knights were snubbed by the selection committee after an upset loss to Colgate in the Patriot League tournament NCAA Championship Weekend is May 24-26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Notre Dame was seeded third in 2023 on its way to the first NCAA title in program history The Irish entered the 2024 event seeded No The top three seeds in this year’s NCAA Tournament are Cornell (14-1) which has made 18 of the past 19 tournament fields has reached the quarterfinals or better all but once in its past 13 NCAA Tournament appearances Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com Notre Dame Events Who could forget the feeling of celebrating an Irish win with your closest friends in Notre Dame Stadium? Or the first time that lightbulb went off in class with your favorite professor? A walk around the lakes or a trip to the Grotto was always a welcome respite. And meals with your section mates were sacred — and always at the best dining hall. Recapture the magic of those moments at Reunion 2025 Round up the crew and join us for an unforgettable weekend celebrating as a Notre Dame family Whether you’re looking to pick up some new knowledge at a workshop hear from University leaders about the future of Notre Dame or simply catch up with your best friends over refreshments on the quad Reunion 2025 has a little something for everyone Notre Dame Events SOUTH BEND ― We didn’t see it until we saw it It was summer 1993, a simpler era of Notre Dame football. The Loftus Center indoor facility seemed state of the art and almost every minute of every practice was open to the media It was then that media and players and coaches would trudge Head coach Lou Holtz would zoom past in his golf cart Offensive line coach Joe Moore would breeze by in his comp car which he would park along a fence at the back of one end zone It was there on those practice fields where everyone assumed that the starting quarterback that season would be a freshman phenom from Western Pennsylvania by the name of Ron Powlus Few were certain about what they’d see from that ‘93 team Noie: How did one group of Notre Dame football fans plan to spend a spring game Saturday? A broken collarbone suffered when Powlus was buried under a pass rush in the final scrimmage seven days before the season opener scrapped that plan It opened the door for a career backup known more for his BMX talents Nobody likely even asked him the time of day over his first three seasons McDougal was quietly cementing confidence among the offensive linemen through the locker room and with the coaching staff won right up until a certain left-footed kicker from Boston College split the uprights and cost Notre Dame a national championship He made the most of an opportunity few thought he’d ever see Fast forward 23 years to 2018 when another Notre Dame quarterback competition centered on average recruit Ian Book and all-everything Brandon Winbush Everyone figured the job would go to Winbush who could run and pass and confuse defenses like nobody since maybe Tony Rice in the early 1990s At a practice inside the stadium on a Saturday morning in August the quarterbacks were in a drill that demanded they throw screen passes into several spots at a nearby net to the point where you wondered if he was just clowning the media Book left Notre Dame in 2020 as the winningest quarterback ― 30 wins and two College Football Playoff appearances ― in program history That brings us to Notre Dame football 2025 Questions about what we will see come fall from Notre Dame spray everywhere Can the defense pick up under first-year coordinator Chris Ash where it left off under Al Golden Will this team finish what it started last season in getting this close to the school’s first national championship since 1988 Nothing else may matter as Notre Dame looks to build off last season’s 14-2 run The assumption following the transfer portal departure of veteran Steve Angeli, who landed at Syracuse He’s big and he’s strong and he’s athletic and accurate and he seems built to handle everything that comes with being the Notre Dame quarterback nobody would be surprised if head coach Marcus Freeman steps to the podium inside Notre Dame Stadium and tabs Carr to be the guy to lead Notre Dame into Hard Rock Stadium against Miami (Fla.) on August 31 long considered one of the other guys in the QB room When it was time to talk to the quarterbacks in 2023 it was important to get with graduate transfer Sam Hartman and Angeli When it was time to talk to the quarterbacks in 2024 it was important to hear from graduate transfer Riley Leonard and Minchey always off to the sider someone who got maybe a question or two or three the third guy in a two-quarterback competition He seemed destined for the portal whenever he realized that it wasn’t going to work Minchey has quietly gone from a non-story to a potentially great story It will be Carr or Minchey in South Florida carries himself like a capable quarterback That lost look he showed into earlier meetings with the media is gone In its place is a confidence that knows the offense His next start at Notre Dame will be his first start at Notre Dame but there’s something about Minchey that makes you believe he can stick the landing Both were guys that were dismissed and doubted Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI Fans and analysts spend more time on the guys who heard their name called on day one and two Those picks have fewer question marks and are expected to be immediate impact players And sometimes those who are selected later in the draft can end up being some of the best players on your team One of those day-three guys who could turn out to be something is Carolina Panthers fifth-round draft pick Mitchell Evans who joins a young tight end room that features Ja’Tavion Sanders and Tommy Tremble Eric Galko of the Shrine Bowl believes he can make an impact early in his career complete TE in Notre Dame’s Mitchell Evans physical tight end who can win in-line and in space as a receiver Should be able to step in and be a key part of the Panthers' TE room with the ceiling to develop into an ideal complement piece to last year’s Panthers pick Evans logged 77 receptions for 903 yards and five scores He won't be asked to shoulder a ton of responsibility right out of the gate but don't be surprised that if at some point Evans becomes the top option at the position What Steve Smith got right - and wrong - about the Panthers WR corps Panthers quarterback Bryce Young slapped with harsh reality check Panthers still considered among NFC’s worst teams despite strong draft Super Bowl champ predicts Bryce Young will have a big year in 2025 the Irish have another rising star in the mix that can help this offense consistently play at a championship level.  "Though Jaden Greathouse emerged as a solid option amid its College Football Playoff run last season he was the only Fighting Irish player to end the year with at least 500 yards receiving Malachi Fields provides an immediate upgrade The 6-foot-4 Virginia transfer had 55 catches for 808 yards -- an average of 14.7 yards per catch -- and five touchdowns All of those numbers would have led the Irish a year ago." - Will Backus It's been quite some time since there's been a dynamic one-two punch at receiver for Notre Dame In 2018 you had Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool in 2009 you had Golden Tate and Michael Floyd and 2005 had Jeff Samardzija and Maurice Stovall Fields and Greathouse have the opportunity to be the next pair added to this list.  Fields brings tremendous size at 6-4 220 pounds to the boundary position something that has been lacking in South Bend since Claypool's departure after the 2019 season over 1600 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns He also averages over 14.0 yards per catch.  CBS Sports has him ranked as a top receiver primed to make an immediate impact this season Fields has flown relatively under the radar by some outlets with big names like Trebor Pena Zachariah Branch and KC Concepcion also entering the portal 11 best receiver in the portal by 247sports but his production proves why he should be significantly higher on the list.  Notre Dame has done an outstanding job over the last couple of seasons supplementing their roster through the transfer portal adding players that can contribute specifically to the offense or defense; they are not just big game hunting the proven experience and is the right fit in this offense.  Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers 2025 Commit Rankings - Offense2025 Commit Rankings - Defense The Law School This spring, Notre Dame Law School hosted the Private Law Workshop, led by Associate Professor of Law Sadie Blanchard The workshop introduced students to cutting-edge scholarship in private law through direct engagement with renowned scholars students participated in interactive sessions where they discussed preliminary readings and analyzed scholars' works in progress The sessions culminated in colloquia featuring guest scholars giving students the opportunity to engage directly with leading experts in the field The workshop was designed to deepen students' understanding of contemporary issues and advanced topics in private law This year’s distinguished guest speakers and their lecture topics included: Roy Shapira presented his insights on competition law through the lens of "Regulation by Rivals." Emily Kadens Professor at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law discussed historical perspectives on consumer protection law in her lecture "Bezoar Stones Make Hard Law: Rethinking the History of Caveat Emptor in English Law." Maya Steinitz Professor at Boston University School of Law explored innovative issues within litigation finance in her lecture titled "Zombie Litigation." Gabriel Rauterberg Professor at the University of Michigan Law School provided historical insights into corporate law with "Corporate Origins: The Medieval Corporation." Daniel Markovits Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School examined philosophical and economic implications in "The Good Life After the Age of Growth." Kimberly Krawiec Gregory Professor of Law at the University of Virginia critically analyzed international policies on organ donation in "WHO Says Countries Should Be Self-Sufficient In (Unremunerated) Organs And Blood." Dr. Debadatta Bose the Robbins Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley Law discussed intersections between human rights and private legal frameworks in "Human Rights and Private Law." Kevin Davis Beller Family Professor of Business Law at New York University School of Law addressed the complex interplay of creditor rights and labor interests in his presentation "Legal Heterodoxy in the Global South: Priority of Workers versus Secured Creditors in Insolvency." UTAH UTES USA; California Golden Bears wide receiver Trond Grizzell (center left) celebrates with wide receiver Tobias Merriweather (center right) after scoring a touchdown against the Stanford Cardinal during the second quarter at California Memorial Stadium Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images BY STEVE BARTLE SALT LAKE CITY – Utah football landed a significant transfer portal target on Monday as former California and Notre Dame receiver Tobias Merriweather committed and signed with the Utes The receiver position was one that Kyle Whittingham specified as one they would address in the portal They’ve now added Merriweather and former Southern Miss pass catcher Larry Simmons He becomes the second receiver commitment this past week and the 20th commitment in the transfer portal class BREAKING: @TM5IVE has committed and signed with Utah! The Utes add a 6-5 receiver with solid career production and a lot of potential to tap into still. pic.twitter.com/rInHEm5kvd — Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) May 5, 2025 Merriweather came to a decision and signed with Utah on Monday The Utes were competing with the UCLA Bruins for Merriweather’s services which makes this a valuable recruiting win Merriweather comes to Utah after time with Cal and Notre Dame he’s tallied 26 receptions for 450 yards and four touchdowns After arriving for an official visit on Monday Moson committed to the program Tuesday afternoon which means he’ll have three seasons of eligibility remaining Moson appeared in five games this past season and tallied 20 tackles His efforts resulted in being named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team Moson is a valuable addition to the cornerback room thanks to his versatility and ability to play both inside and outside He not only re-solidifies the depth in the defensive secondary this season but also gives Utah another player with future potential as a starter Go Utes⚫️🔴🪶 pic.twitter.com/g8liixkHgh — JC Hart (@JCHart_) April 21, 2025 Hart committed to the program Monday morning He comes to Utah with three seasons of eligibility remaining after a redshirt year in 2023 and backup duties last season Hart brings the sort of size and length Utah has been pretty adamant on adding this cycle He is the fourth cornerback transfer who stands at least 6-foot-2 He appeared in 15 games over the course of two seasons contributing on special teams and logging 63 snaps on defense Hart’s addition will help solidify Utah’s depth at cornerback this season while having the potential to develop into a starter down the road Let’s go family‼️ pic.twitter.com/HqrpRlAT9b — Justin Stevenson (@Juststevenson11) January 3, 2025 the Wyoming transfer has committed to the Utes as it provides Utah with another young receiver with experience and an established role 190-pound pass catcher is coming off his redshirt freshman season where he emerged in the latter half of the season he finished with 12 receptions for 182 yards and three touchdowns Stevenson was used primarily as a deep threat in the Cowboys’ offense which is the role he will likely continue to play at Utah He had an average depth of target of 18.1 yards on 42 total targets Wyoming pushed the ball vertically with him a lot and that will continue at Utah He will come to Utah with three remaining seasons of eligibility He is the fourth receiver to add his name to Utah’s commit list BREAKING: Former Vanderbilt and Utah QB, @Shaboinate3, is returning to SLC! #GoUtes pic.twitter.com/7G0ScPQ1iN — Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) December 31, 2024 After spending the past season with the Vanderbilt Commodores the former Utah quarterback is running it back with the Utes as Diego Pavia took control of the job there his familiarity and impact are well known at Utah Given the change in offense with Jason Beck He will return as a quarterback and will also be used as a versatile offensive weapon With the additions of Devon Dampier and Brendan Zurbrugg Utah has landed the commitment of former Utah State receiver @OttoTia5! pic.twitter.com/LVUL9iNlk5 — Steve Bartle (@BartleKSLsports) December 26, 2024 The former Utah State pass catcher will head south about an hour to Salt Lake City to continue his career with the Utes Tia will join Utah as a redshirt senior with one year of eligibility He gives Utah a bigger body in the receiver As a player who has always possessed exciting potential Tia hadn’t put it all together until this past season He became a much more consistent pass catcher in the second half of the year 220-pounder played in 12 games and hauled in 44 receptions for 434 yards and 7 touchdowns this past season Ute’s Nation let’s ride!!💪🏽🙏🏽 #AGTG pic.twitter.com/4JuxudCKgd — RD ‼️ (@Davis_Ryan2) December 23, 2024 The former New Mexico pass catcher is the third Lobo to follow Jason Beck and Micah Simon to Salt Lake City 174-pounder is primarily a slot receiver but showed the ability to make plays at all levels of the passing attack With 54 receptions totaling 747 yards and 3 touchdowns Davis was the second-leading pass catcher for New Mexico this season He also produced against the three P4 programs the Lobos faced last season He totaled 12 receptions for 181 yards against Arizona Davis is now the second receiver in the transfer class and Utah remains active in pursuing other pass cathcer @Utah_Football @COACHKDJR @Coach_Beck7 pic.twitter.com/oN3IR0BksD — Brendan Zurbrugg (@BrendanZurbrugg) December 23, 2024 Following a report late last week that Zurbrugg committed to Utah where he redshirted this past season as a freshman Zurbrugg is actually very familiar with Jason Beck He was once committed to Syracuse as a high school prospect when Beck served as quarterbacks coach That relationship played a key role in Utah landing his commitment I have committed to the university of Utah!! Go utes!!!🤍❤️@Utah_Football @IAmTDowns pic.twitter.com/UQ60OOA2e9 — Devin Green (@DevGreen_2) December 22, 2024 Green worked his way into the rotation at UNLV 210-pounder finished the year with 123 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries Green hails from Grant Union in Sacramento the same school that produced fellow running back Wayshawn Parker and former Utah great Devontae Booker this serves as the final touch on Utah’s revamped running back room 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 ✍️ @lancefrmdabean #GoUtes | #UBOYZ25 pic.twitter.com/QQUMv8uBaL — Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 22, 2024 Holtzclaw showed promise this past season as a pass rusher One of the bigger needs in the transfer portal window has been bolstering the defensive end room Connor O’Toole and Van Fillinger have both exhausted their eligibility Among the first transfer portal additions was former Oregon pass rusher Jaxson Jones Utah has now added a former Washington Husky in Holtzclaw to the mix 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 ✍️ @WayshawnParker #GoUtes | #UBOYZ25 pic.twitter.com/aEeytO6uiM — Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 20, 2024 Parker follow coach Atuaia to Utah and that’s a big win for the Utes Parker is coming off of a fantastic freshman campaign at Washington State He finished the 2024 season with 735 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns while adding another touchdown and 108 yards on 11 receptions He narrowed down his recruitment to Arizona and Utah and the Utes will get the last word before his decision who needed a bonafide stud after the departures from the group this season 𝑺𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒅 ✍️ @NaquariR #GoUtes | #UBOYZ25 pic.twitter.com/GT3mpIDJz8 — Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 20, 2024 The former New Mexico running back was one of the first players extended an offer by the new offensive staff Rogers was a consistent source of production He played an important role as a complementary piece in the rushing attack 208-pound back finished the season with 74 carries for 382 yards and 5 touchdowns — ✝️ Kalolo Ta’aga ✝️ (@LoloTaaga) December 19, 2024 It’s always a good thing to keep the offensive line stocked with promising big men Utah added another one in USC transfer Kalolo Ta’aga He was a priority recruit for Utah in last year’s cycle Ta’aga committed to the Trojans over the Utes in the final days before the early signing period given his combination of athleticism and frame He will need further development but given what Utah has in place at tackle already it’s an ideal situation for him and Utah Let’s get it! @Utah_Football pic.twitter.com/oxcKSBHvlH — Blake_Cotton_ (@BCotton0) December 18, 2024 After officially visiting Utah at the start of the week Utah continues to improve the defensive secondary’s depth and flexibility Cotton is the third defensive back of similar stature Over the course of his three-year career at UC Davis Cotton has limited opponents to under 48% completion percentage when targeted and has notched 9 pass deflections He comes to Utah with three seasons of experience under his belt and one season of eligibility remaining Im finally home, lets work‼️🏝️ pic.twitter.com/5enHNL01RI — Donovan Saunders (@Don_Saunders_) December 16, 2024 Saunders has an exciting blend of size and athleticism for the cornerback position Perhaps the most interesting thing about his recruitment is that Saunders was a top priority for Utah in last year’s portal cycle He ultimately landed at Texas A&M but he visited Salt Lake City and was considered a top option for Utah he ends up at Utah after a year in College Station Saunders is the second cornerback to commit to since the portal opened Utah has worked swiftly to address the cornerback room with size and athleticism Saunders is a very good addition to the room UTAHHH!! Let’s do it pic.twitter.com/tdgQhtZ18U — Creed Whittemore (@c_whit115) December 15, 2024 the Utes continued their roll after picking up their fourth addition of the weekend Former Mississippi State receiver Creed Whittemore announced his commitment to the program 185-pound pass catcher is a prototypical slot receiver He’s totaled 15 receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns He was previously considered a four-star talent from high school in Gainesville He comes to Utah with three seasons of eligibility remaining after redshirting this season Time to get after it Utes fans !❤️ pic.twitter.com/KhcZ8HlPkv — Jaxson Jones (@JaxsonJones80) December 15, 2024 Jones was a member of Oregon’s 2024 class and appeared in just one game this season 230-pounder has a lot of potential and ties to the program His father Daniel Jones played receiver at Utah from 1997-98 Jones showed a lot of promise as a linebacker and edge rusher Jones was a high three-star prospect last year and committed to Oregon after backing off of a pledge to Washington He held offers from Michigan and USC among others — Orion Phillips (@OrionPhillips14) December 14, 2024 After losing their own punter to the portal Utah wasted little time to address the position Utah landed the commitment of former Missouri punter Orion Phillips Phillips also pinned 12 punts inside the 20-yard line A post shared by Jeremiah Caldwell (@_.rockk2) Caldwell will join Utah after a year at Garden City CC He was once a four-star composite prospect in the 2022 recruiting class Caldwell’s high school recruitment boiled down to Louisville He ultimately committed to Louisville but transferred after a year to Miami (OH) Caldwell played both cornerback and safety He finished this past season with 32 tackles Utah currently has seven total additions and remains heavily involved with several other targets The program hosted several players over the weekend and will continue to welcome prospects to campus in the coming days Download the new & improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. You can stream live radio, video and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams. Follow @BartleKSLsports ShopLas Vegas Aces In addition to tipping off the preseason slate, the Friday night matchup will also celebrate the homecoming of a trio of former Notre Dame players who are now in the WNBA. Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (2015-19) along with Aces guards Jewell Loyd (2012-15) and Jackie Young (2016-19) will all make their return to Purcell Pavillion. In addition to returners and offseason pickups, the Wings made a splash at the 2025 WNBA Draft, led by No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers of UConn. In addition to Bueckers, the impressive draft class also included No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James of North Carolina State, No. 14 Madison Scott of Ole Miss, No. 27 JJ Quinerly of West Virginia and No. 31 Aaronette Vonleh of Baylor. Picking up in Purcell…. Ogunbowale (2015-19) is the all-time leading scorer in Irish women’s basketball history. She scored 2,626 points at Notre Dame, won 136 games over four years, three ACC titles, a national title and a national runner-up finish. Headlining the Wings, she’ll face off against Aces guards and fellow Fighting Irish alumni Jewell Loyd (2012-15) and Jackie Young (2016-19). New season, new faces…. Dallas will debut its overhauled roster, consisting of just three returning players from the 2024 season (McCowan, Ogunbowale, Siegrist). The Wings’ new additions go from its draft class and free agency signings to the front office, where several key leadership additions mark a new era in franchise history. Draft Class debut… The Wings’ 2025 Draft Class will make its unofficial debut against the Aces, headlined by No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers. No. 12 overall pick Aziaha James is familiar with both Purcell Pavilion and Notre Dame as the Fighting Irish were a conference foe to James’ NC State squad. She had 20 points and five rebounds when they last met as she led the Wolfpack to a double-overtime victory over the then-No. 1 ranked Fighting Irish. Koclanes era begins… Head coach Chris Koclanes will also unofficially kick-off his inaugural season at the helm of the Wings. Koclanes was hired in December with extensive experience in both the WNBA and Division I women’s basketball. #WingsUp… The official hashtag for the 2025 season is #WingsUp, to celebrate the franchise’s 10th season in North Texas. The Wings have advanced to the WNBA Playoffs five of their first nine seasons in Dallas, including reaching the Semifinals in 2023. adding a commitment from one of the best running backs in the country had Notre Dame near the top of his recruitment list for months before making it official on Saturday 🚨 BREAKING: Four-star RB Javian Osborne has announced his commitment to Notre Dame over Michigan ☘️ “It doesn't get any better than Notre Dame.”Huge get for the Ja'Juan Seider and the Fighting Irish.Story: https://t.co/FMXKkR2zIy pic.twitter.com/donggeKKbO Osborne narrowed his recruitment down to Notre Dame and Michigan before choosing the Irish with his verbal pledge to Marcus Freeman and company 200-pounder brings a home-run hitting style of play that will be exciting for fans to watch in the near future Osborne has the shiftiness to make up for it and then some An underrated part of his game is his power which makes him so unpredictable for opposing defenses or just juke you in the hole when he wants to.Difference maker "They're known for running the ball and Notre Dame is O-Line U," Osborne said of his future home "They have a lot of great guys that went there and went to the NFL What running back wouldn't want to be part of a program that breeds offensive lineman?" One would have to imagine that Notre Dame's 2024 playoff run had some influence in Osborne having interest in The Fighting Irish rushing attack led it all the way to the national title game with both running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price expected to be NFL draft picks next April Osborne's game is most similar to Kyren Williams You may not see him hit the hurdles and ridiculously athletic plays Love makes but Osborne has everything it takes to be the next Notre Dame back to get drafted to the NFL and that is all you can ask for in a high school prospect Look for Notre Dame to add a second back with a complimentary skillset to Osborne in this 2026 class along with Penn State commit Messiah Mickens are the names to know going forward Watch Riley Leonard receive the call from general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen after being selected 189th in the 2025 NFL Draft Riley Leonard arrived at Notre Dame last spring still recovering from an ankle injury that prematurely ended his time at Duke He wasn't able to participate in spring practices due to the injury but prior to the 2024 season he still found both the time and the space to throw to his new group of pass catchers The space was in a notable setting: Philip Rivers' backyard and his parents live about five minutes away from Rivers the should-be future Hall of Fame quarterback who's now the head coach at St Leonard invited several Irish pass catchers to Fairhope for a few days to work with him and Rivers – whose backyard has a 50-yard turf field with end zones in it "I thought that said a lot about him being a teammate to those guys at Notre Dame how much they enjoyed being around him and respected him and how they interacted with them," Rivers said "And so it was fun to pull for him along the way Rivers caught himself following Notre Dame closely during the 2024 season which saw the Irish reach the College Football Playoff championship game "Hey, there's (Jaden) Greathouse," Rivers remembers seeing and then thinking "he caught that same route in the backyard." Go behind the scenes with the Indianapolis Colts for every call every story and every draft room decision in the 2025 NFL Draft that will shape the next chapter of the franchise Leonard again returned to Rivers' backyard for several throwing sessions after Notre Dame's season ended with the quarterback's focus turning toward the 2025 NFL Draft the more the 17-year veteran quarterback – who spent the final year of his career with the Colts – believed the future 2025 draft pick was ready for the NFL And now that Leonard is with the Colts – coached by Shane Steichen who spent six years as an offensive assistant coach working with Rivers with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers – Rivers believes the sixth-round pick will thrive in Indianapolis where he'll join a quarterback room headlined by this year's competition between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones "(Leonard's) just a real pleasant and enjoyable guy to be around," Rivers said but really competitive and wants to just soak up all he can You always want those young guys to be confident but also have that humility that I think Shane has a great way of communicating (with) and coaching the quarterbacks Shane is completely capable and can assist with the basic fundamentals of pass drops and all that But Shane is really an unbelievable mind when it comes to understanding defenses and coverages and how to throw certain routes and where they need to be looking at So Shane will be a great asset for Riley as he progresses as a young player He's going to end up being an asset to the whole quarterback room in terms of preparing the starter for the season It'll be a good working environment for Riley and Shane and that offensive staff — I know a handful of those guys as well — they'll do a heck of a job." Fans invited to join Colts Official Priority List for first access to single game tickets The Colts saw in Tyler Warren a tight end who plays with punishing physicality both with the ball in his hands and as a run blocker wife of Colts director of college scouting Matt Terpening The Colts announced the jersey number changes for two of their 2025 free agent signings Keep track of all updates to the 2025 NFL schedule The Indianapolis Colts today announced "Blue's Million Dollar Schedule Challenge," presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors where one contestant can win $1 million by correctly predicting the Colts' entire 18-week schedule for the 2025 regular season Richardson arrived at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center Tuesday for the start of the Colts' offseason program The Colts released veteran Matt Gay earlier this month and believe in the upside and talent possessed by second-year kicker Spencer Shrader Colts general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen sat down for an exclusive interview on the debut episode of "The Colts Show," which is available to download wherever you get your podcasts and can be watched on YouTube or in the player below Ward and Bynum's impact on the Colts defense goes beyond each free agent signing being a productive Colts general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen this week addressed a few areas of their team's roster that could see additions and/or strong competition in 2025 Be the first to see the 2025 schedule and get priority presale access to single game tickets Linebacker Jakobe Clapper of Cincinnati announced his commitment on Friday while running back Javian Osborne of Texas announced his decision a day later Both players are ranked as four-star talents according to the 247Sports composite rankings.Why did they end up at Notre Dame though?It's easy to look at last season's success and see that talented players want to join a team that can perform on the big stage but for recruits it takes more than just that to get them to come play for you Osborne was asked about what made Notre Dame special by longtime recruiting guru Tom Lemming and shared that it was the people that he liked most about the university Javian Osborne gives his reasons for committing to Notre Dame. The 4*+ RB is one of the more explosive offensive players in the nation. pic.twitter.com/Injlt96O5q Osborne also spoke highly of Notre Dame's offensive line to Rivals and mentioned that as a big part of the reason he chose the Fighting Irish over Michigan as well Meet Notre Dame’s future RB1 🍀 pic.twitter.com/8g33zWtamm Osborne's final two schools came down to Notre Dame and Michigan with the Irish earning the highly coveted commitment It's still fairly early in the recruiting cycle as the early signing period is still more than six months away but a indisputable trend in this cycle has been Notre Dame beating out Michigan for multiple prospects.It's not to say Michigan doesn't offer a good amount of the same but the relationships Osborne speaks of would suggest that Notre Dame's recent rise in recruiting cycle shouldn't be slowing down anytime soon The two All-American candidates helped guide the Fighting Irish to a 24-2 start before fading down the stretch and exiting the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 Miles opted to not enter the WNBA draft as most had expected her to do She instead entered the transfer portal and announced not long after that she would be playing her final year of college basketball at the program that ended her time at Notre Dame Purcell Pavilion at Notre Dame played host to a WNBA exhibition game that featured a handful of former Notre Dame stars Both Hidalgo and Miles were in attendance and a fan in the stands caught what could at best be described as an uncomfortable interaction Check it out below as security ends up stepping in and moving the two away from the public's view i need to know the TRUTH pic.twitter.com/tr3sZVm6IF I don't know what was said or who is at fault and won't pretend to but it's fairly clear that the two aren't discussing where they plan to get dinner My favorite part of the video is the young lady behind Hidalgo that can clearly hear what exactly is being said and tries to play it off but is clearly listening to every second of the interaction Defensive backs coach Mike Mickens has strung together consecutive years of producing and developing elite talent; 2025 is no exception This room remains elite at the top and gets some much needed depth added to the roster heading into this summer 2025 Cornerback RosterThis room is loaded with size Rising sophomore Leonard Moore came onto the scene last year against Louisville earning his first collegiate start due to an injury He then became the full time starter against Georgia Tech after All-American Benjamin Morrison was lost for the season due to a hip injury Moore finished the season with a team leading 11 passes defended His performance last year earned him a spot on the FWAA Freshman All-American Team and was named the FWAA Defensive Freshman of the Year.  Alabama transfer DeVonta Smith will likely be the starter at nickel this season He started and played in all 12 regular season games for the Crimson Tide a season ago Smith has yet to allow a touchdown reception in his career and has tons of big game experience Oklahoma on the road and Tennessee on the road Mickens has a lot of experience and elite athleticism to work with but filling in behind them is what makes this group really exciting.  Post Spring AnalysisWe saw limited action from Gray and Moore throughout the spring and what we did see didn't surprise anybody it's promising they aren't letting their successes or struggles from last season distract them from this upcoming season; Moore and Gray are using it as fuel for this fall is some young players step up and build out depth this spring physicality and athleticism during the Blue Gold game There were questions surrounding the overall depth of the cornerback room but Hobbs' emergence this spring solidified himself as the No 2 corner at both field and boundary.  True freshman early enrollee Cree Thomas also had a promising spring The 6-1 186 pound Arizona native proved to be a very smooth athlete He came from the same high school as Morrison and the two have remained close throughout the offseason Thomas has the ability to make an impact on defense and special teams this upcoming season and has benefitted from being an early enrollee Notre Dame brings in two cornerbacks this summer that will make the rotation conversation really interesting and exciting to follow.  Summer ArrivalsTwo of Notre Dame's highly touted recruits come to South Bend this summer defense and special teams throughout his high school career He was a consensus four-star recruit and the No but his athleticism and playmaking ability is off the charts He has the ability to play multiple positions on defense alone Golden enters this summer in a prime position to be a factor in the cornerback rotation and on special teams as a returner The 6-0 180 pound corner will be an exciting player to watch for years to come in the blue and gold.  Indianapolis native Mark Zackery will be joining Golden this summer The 6-0 170 pound corner is the more natural cover player of the two and had a strong junior and senior season Zackery was also a consensus four-star recruit and was named 2024 Indiana Mr He was ranked in the top five in the state by every major recruiting service and the No Zackery is a very smooth athlete and his coverage ability is reminiscent of Morrison's He is also an outstanding athlete; Zackery made plays on both sides of the ball and was also the starting point guard on the Ben Davis basketball team when they went 33-0 and won the state championship in 2022.  Moving ForwardEven though this is an elite position group there are still things they will have to work on to become a championship caliber unit the corners are still relatively young and have their best football ahead of them Here are some of the things we need to see from the cornerback room from now until the end of fall camp.  1. Build On Last Season - Moore and Gray had great seasons respectively for Notre Dame and were a big factor in the Irish maintaining the best passing defense in college football in multiple categories They will have to carry that momentum into the 2025 season Gray had some mishaps last season that will have to get cleaned up Moore needs to continue ascending and not let the hype around him cloud his vision of becoming the best cornerback in college football for years to come.  Moore and Gray are proven guys who are all but locks to start this season barring injury the talent behind them is extremely inexperienced Hobbs only appeared in eight games last season and totaled 83 snaps Golden and Zackery are all true freshman that haven't stepped on a collegiate field yet Fifth year senior Chance Tucker returns from injury this offseason but he will have to get reacclimatized due to being absent for over a year Mickens will have to develop the young talent in the room this season in case their number is called while the three proven players in the room have to hold them accountable as leaders to make sure they're doing the right things on and off the field.  Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker