Freeman's vision of a dominant line unit is closer than ever. Discover how Notre Dame's trenches are shaping up and which players are NFL-bound.
From the beginning, head coach Marcus Freeman has talked about being a line-driven program and a team that's built around and identity formed in the trenches on offense and defense. Up to this point, that ideology hasn't come to fruition, but they're getting close. This is the best outlook the Notre Dame offensive and defensive line has looked coming out of spring during Freeman's tenure. The offensive line looks significantly bigger, more talented and more athletic. The same could be said for the defensive line with their increase in size and playmaking potential.
In part one of today's show, we dive into how close the Irish are to this coming true. We also broke down the Notre Dame hopefuls who hope to hear their name called in the 2026 NFL Draft. We break down the careers and projections of Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Malachi Fields, Billy Schrauth and Eli Raridon ahead of the draft and also talk about the other players who will be in contention for a draft pick. There's 12 former Fighting Irish standouts who hope to get drafted this year, and there's a chance over half of them do. You can listen to all of that and more in today's episode of the Irish Breakdown Podcast.
You can watch the entire show here:
Here are some of the main topics we discussed on today's episode:
On Notre Dame Being A Line Driven Program...
"At the start of the offseason, we talked about how Freeman wants to be a line driven program but they have yet to live up to that standard. After seeing what they've done this spring, my cautious optimism has now turned into pure optimism that this happens in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Offensively, this is a very long, athletic unit. Anthonie Knapp's move inside has been smooth, Guerby Lambert looks like he could be a star at left tackle and Will Black is showing tons of promise at left tackle. On top of that, Sullivan Absher has improved this offseason and is taking the next steps and Joe Otting is also having a strong spring.
"Defensively, Boubacar Traore is on the verge of becoming a national standout. Bryce Young is taking the proper steps to become an impact player on the defensive line. The two transfer portal guys have been what we expected and I'll go as far to say that Tionne Gray has been better than expected in my opinion. Notre Dame is one of the favorites to win the National Championship and is one of only two teams who's over/under win totals is set at 11.5. This team needs to be line driven and this offseason is off to a tremendous start for that to become a reality."
On Jeremiyah Love's Draft Preview...
"He's the clear cut No. 1 running back in the entire draft class and he's been the best running back at Notre Dame in my lifetime. He has the opportunity to be the highest drafted skilled player from South Bend in a very long time. Love could be the player that turns around the narrative about Notre Dame's offensive players they sent to the draft. He's an exceptional football player and an even better person. He's the first player in Notre Dame history to bring home to Doak Walker Award and he's a franchise level player at the next level. Love is going to go in the Top 10, the question is where and when, not if."
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