Tim Prister

Blake Hebert should have the most thorough grasp of Mike Denbrock's offensive system. Noah Grubbs impressed in the spring with a rifle arm and a gunslinger mentality. Teddy Jarrard may have the highest upside but should be a senior in high school. It's hurry up and prove yourself for the Irish backup QBs.

Have the Irish shaken their early-September hiccups? Notre Dame is “the bigger man” in the relationship and bends to USC's needs to continue the series. The battle for the No. 2 quarterback job. Mike Golic is an inspired choice to fill a spot in the radio booth for Irish football broadcasts.

Ashton Craig sees first practice action since 2025 ACL tear. Assessing the physical condition of Notre Dame's defensive linemen. An update on the practice-field debut of WR-Quincy Porter. Our first glimpse of CB-DJ McKinney. The star of the day? Probably P-Jasper Scaife.

For Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa to be out there running around on the practice field is a huge win considering his knee injury occurred in November. A closer look at Notre Dame's defensive ends. LB-Thomas Davis Jr. certainly looks the part of Notre Dame linebacker.

Kedren Young flashed during his freshman season in 2024. He carried the football in three games, snapping off a double-digit-yardage run in each outing. Now Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are off to the NFL, but the competition in the Irish backfield remains stout.

With Ashton Craig not quite up to full speed, Joe Otting took No. 1 reps during early-practice tempo drill. Jaden Greathouse continues to show encouraging signs. Like Chris Finke before him, Matt Jeffery refuses to be denied in his quest for a niche role with the Irish in '26.

Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock believes the Irish have a skillet within its wide receiver corps that the offense will use to its advantage on the perimeter. But this is Notre Dame, and even without Love/Price, the Irish intend to control the line of scrimmage with the ground game

Despite missing three games in '25 with an injury, DJ McKinney's reputation on the football field is that of a tough, durable and sound-tackling cornerback. In '24, he took 877 snaps for Colorado. Of his 2,093 career snaps, he was cited for less than two dozen missed tackles from 2023-25.

The Irish go three-deep at defensive tackle and two-and-a-half deep at linebacker. Depth at defensive end remains a project. But the Irish are poised for their second straight season of holding opponents to less than three yards per carry, which beckons back to the Tyrone Willingham/Kent Baer era.

Secondary length shows up in Notre Dame's pass coverage statistics. Armel Mukam remained with the No. 1 unit at defensive tackle. Jayden Sanders took No. 2 reps at nickel in the absence of Dallas Golden, who was in street clothes. 5-for-5 rule should assist ND's special teams with talented freshman athletes.