{"id":716600,"date":"2026-01-30T13:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/716600\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T13:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T13:37:15","slug":"notre-dame-2026-starting-lineup-projection-where-are-the-irishs-big-pre-spring-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/716600\/","title":{"rendered":"Notre Dame 2026 starting lineup projection: Where are the Irish\u2019s big pre-spring questions?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SOUTH BEND, Ind. \u2014 Notre Dame isn\u2019t quite ready to move on to next football season, considering the coaching staff isn\u2019t set after defensive backs coach Mike Mickens\u2019 departure for the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> and defensive line coach turned linebackers coach Al Washington off to the Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n

Still, the Irish are close, even if there\u2019s more staff movement to come. At a minimum, head coach Marcus Freeman knows those changes won\u2019t affect his coordinators: Notre Dame is bringing back incumbents at both positions for the first time in Freeman\u2019s five seasons, along with his first returning starter at quarterback.<\/p>\n

Leave no doubt? Now at the top of the football food chain, the Irish shouldn\u2019t have any under Freeman. But that doesn\u2019t mean Notre Dame doesn\u2019t have spring practice questions to answer. Here\u2019s a look at how the team may shape up, position by position.<\/p>\n

Quarterback<\/p>\n

Starter: CJ Carr
Spotlight: Noah Grubbs<\/p>\n

Unlike last spring, quarterback should be a tidy position come March. It\u2019s CJ Carr and everybody else. This is how it\u2019s supposed to look for Notre Dame, which has a serious Heisman Trophy contender at the position for the first time since Brady Quinn and a returning starter for the first time since Ian Book. That 2020 season, with the program\u2019s all-time winningest quarterback working under offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, ended in the College Football Playoff. This one should, too.<\/p>\n

The No. 2 job is wide open, which will put some pressure on mid-year enrollee Noah Grubbs. There\u2019s a reason why the staff pushed to have Teddy Jarrard reclassify to arrive this offseason. A strong spring from Grubbs might change how the staff feels entering summer.<\/p>\n

Running back<\/p>\n

Starter: Aneyas Williams
Spotlight: Javian Osborne<\/p>\n

For all the memorable highlights produced by Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, their every-down production can sometimes get overlooked. After all, not every carry went for a 50-yard touchdown, even if it sometimes felt that way. Love and Price combined for 312 carries, 2,046 yards and 29 rushing touchdowns, raw numbers that are difficult to reproduce from a running back group returning part-time production from Aneyas Williams and basically nothing else \u2026 although Williams was also good for a 50-yard touchdown on occasion.<\/p>\n

Can Williams be RB1? Can Notre Dame make it work if he\u2019s more of an RB1A? That depends on Kedren Young\u2019s recovery, considering he tore his ACL last summer and has yet to play a meaningful snap in two seasons. It also depends on mid-year enrollees Javian Osborne and Jonaz Walton, with the former looking more college ready.<\/p>\n

Osborne rushed 271 times for 2,157 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior. And at 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds, he\u2019s probably more ready to shoulder a load. It\u2019s not that Notre Dame can\u2019t be good at running back, but the Irish will be a step down from generational.<\/p>\n

Wide receivers<\/p>\n

Starters: Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse, Micah Gilbert
Spotlight: Mylan Graham<\/p>\n

Stop us if you\u2019ve heard this before: Notre Dame\u2019s receiver room is full of potential! It\u2019s been that way since before Freeman arrived, which is another compliment to Mike Mickens. Hear us out. When Mickens arrived six years ago, the defensive back and wide receiver positions were full of recruiting misses and questionable development. One position group now sits at the top of college football. The other has featured a parade of transfers saving Notre Dame from roster misfires, dating back to Ben Skowronek. Maybe the Irish are done with that?<\/p>\n

Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse are both CFP-level talents, although Greathouse\u2019s odd redshirt last season made his 100-yard games against Penn State and Ohio State feel more dated than one season ago. There\u2019s a reason Notre Dame invested so much in Ohio State transfers Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham. The Irish didn\u2019t have a choice if they wanted to make this year the year for Carr. Graham will be the most interesting receiver during spring ball because he\u2019ll be available while Porter works back from a knee injury.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a job begging to be won at this position, and the three-man junior class of Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert and Logan Saldate has yet to make an impact. Last year\u2019s freshmen didn\u2019t get much of a chance, and now there are five new mid-year enrollees. The Irish have numbers to throw at the problem. But quantity won\u2019t solve it alone.<\/p>\n

Tight end<\/p>\n

Starter: Cooper Flanagan
Spotlight: James Flanigan<\/p>\n

Why did Notre Dame struggle in short yardage last season? A more classic tight end setting the edge could have helped, and the Irish didn\u2019t have one without Flanagan, who was recovering from an Achilles tear suffered in the Sugar Bowl. Flanagan played just four snaps against USC and didn\u2019t see the field the rest of the season, held out of most practices through November. Point being, his absence was more than precautionary. Now he\u2019s back to working out during winter conditioning. Flanagan could be a difference maker in the run game.<\/p>\n

Beyond Flanagan? There\u2019s a load of potential, including five-star freshman Ian Premer, who doesn\u2019t arrive until the summer. That means Flanigan probably needs to make a move during spring to lock up the third (or second) tight end spot. He redshirted as a freshman by playing in just four games, including 15 snaps at Pitt with the game still in doubt. Ty Washington, as a second tight end, is all fine and good. Flanigan winning that job would probably be better for the Irish.<\/p>\n

Offensive line<\/p>\n

Starters: Anthonie Knapp, Charles Jagusah, Joe Otting, Guerby Lambert, Will Black
Spotlight: Will Black<\/p>\n

At this time a year ago, Notre Dame\u2019s offensive line was expected to be the best in the country. It didn\u2019t quite work out that way, with Jagusah out for the season before it started, and then center Ashton Craig lost to an ACL tear by midseason. It\u2019s not that the offensive line was poor; it just didn\u2019t hit the heights expected. Still, there\u2019s plenty of talent for offensive line coach Joe Rudolph to mold. It\u2019s just not clear how the starting lineup will open spring ball.<\/p>\n

Anthonie Knapp is a lock at left tackle. Jagusah and Craig are staples on the line when healthy. Guerby Lambert grew into the right guard spot in his first season starting. The hunch is Black will get the first look at right tackle, even though he repped at guard last season while taking a redshirt. Black was a five-star prospect according to Rivals, which gets lost in Notre Dame\u2019s loaded incoming freshman class.<\/p>\n

There should be some young depth pieces behind the starting lineup, but getting reps for guard Sullivan Absher and center Joe Otting should be the priority. Otting should run with the starters in spring until Craig gets healthy closer to the season.<\/p>\n

Defensive line<\/p>\n

Starters: Boubacar Traore, Francis Brewu, Jason Onye, Bryce Young
Spotlight: D-line coach Charlie Partridge<\/p>\n

No position got a bigger upgrade through the portal (and the NCAA waiver process) than the defensive line, which went from a panic spot within the Irish defense to a bona fide strength. Adding Francis Brewu (Pitt) and Tionne Gray (Oregon), along with Jason Onye\u2019s return for a sixth season, could reimagine how defensive coordinator Chris Ash and new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge call the game. Swapping Keon Keeley for Josh Burnham gives the Irish a bigger body as their third defensive end. Is this the third most-talented position group on the team?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s so much new here, including a group of four mid-year enrollees \u2014 five-star end Rodney Dunham is the headliner \u2014 that it\u2019s impossible to pick out a most interesting player or two or three heading toward spring. This is all part of the reason Partridge was hired. He knows how to marry fronts to the coverages Ash likes to run, and his track record as a talent developer is top-notch.<\/p>\n

Linebacker<\/p>\n

Starters: Drayk Bowen, Jaiden Ausberry, Jaylen Sneed
Spotlight: Madden Faraimo<\/p>\n

The position will be limited during spring practice, with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa months removed from an ACL tear suffered against Syracuse and Drayk Bowen reportedly limited by hip surgery. And suddenly it will have a new position coach after Al Washington\u2019s departure for the Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n

But considering how many reps Bowen and Viliamu-Asa split last season, they probably didn\u2019t need extended spring work. Of course, it\u2019s not like Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed are short on experience. Ausberry (437 snaps) basically logged the same workload as Viliamu-Asa (435 snaps) last season. Sneed is entering his fifth year with 1,016 career snaps played.<\/p>\n

That combination of injury and experience makes Madden Faraimo the most interesting linebacker in the room after a decent freshman season. He didn\u2019t play against Miami, Texas A&M or USC, meaning he has to prove himself to the staff as a reliable linebacker. Spring ball is the perfect time for that \u2026 no matter who is coaching the position.<\/p>\n

Cornerback<\/p>\n

Starters: Leonard Moore, Christian Gray
Spotlight: DJ McKinney, Khary Adams<\/p>\n

Notre Dame has the best cornerback in the country and perhaps the best starting duo, too. It\u2019s just a matter of who will be coaching them, with Mickens off to the NFL. Frankly, it would be hard to screw this up, no matter where Freeman turns for his next cornerbacks coach. Along with rising sophomores Dallas Golden and Mark Zackery IV, the Irish have a talented and tidy depth chart that\u2019s already built to absorb losing Leonard Moore and Christian Gray to the pros next winter.<\/p>\n

Still, does Notre Dame have a true nickel? Golden got some run there last season, with mixed results. Incoming transfer DJ McKinney didn\u2019t play much slot corner at Colorado, but he has more than 2,000 snaps of college experience. Will Zackery or mid-year enrollee Khary Adams get a look? It\u2019s hard to imagine a five-star prospect not getting a chance somewhere next season. Like at linebacker, the reserve corners are more interesting than the starters.<\/p>\n

Safety<\/p>\n

Starters: Adon Shuler, Tae Johnson
Spotlight: Joey O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

Similar story to cornerback, with Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson forming perhaps the best starting tandem in the nation. Shuler will be a two-time captain, and Johnson was last season\u2019s breakout star (not named CJ Carr). Notre Dame invested in keeping the Shuler-Johnson lineup intact as other programs noticed their potential. Year 2 in the Ash playbook could mark a major step forward, which is saying something considering how well they played a year ago.<\/p>\n

Not to overlook Luke Talich, but when Notre Dame got five-star safety Joey O\u2019Brien and compared his body type to Kyle Hamilton, it was a signal that the Philadelphia product will get a chance to play immediately. If O\u2019Brien is as good as he appears, he\u2019ll flash during spring practice. Notre Dame doesn\u2019t need him to challenge Shuler or Johnson, just to be ready a year from now when the position probably turns over.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SOUTH BEND, Ind. \u2014 Notre Dame isn\u2019t quite ready to move on to next football season, considering the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716601,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,49,48,4732],"class_list":{"0":"post-716600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716600\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}