Discover Notre Dame's offensive standouts! Eyes on a promising young quarterback and a breakout receiver as the Irish offense showcases its talent.
The annual Blue Gold game kicks off inside of Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday afternoon which signifies the end of spring training. We're one day closer to fall camp and one day closer to the Irish kicking off their season up at Lambeau Field. Like every year, there's players to watch in the spring game, and even though there's not an on-going battle for QB1 this year, there's still a good amount of players to watch.
This has been a very impressive spring from the Fighting Irish offense and we're starting to see the effects of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock heading into year three. This year, I won't be paying too much attention to players like CJ Carr, Jordan Faison or Anthonie Knapp; I don't know how much we'll see the first team offense and we know what guys like that can do. But there are some players to keep your eye out on this Saturday afternoon and it starts with an up and coming, young quarterback.
Noah Grubbs - Quarterback No. 10
For the first time since 2020, Notre Dame will have a returning starting quarterback with Carr coming back to lead the offense. For the first time since 2023, Notre Dame's back up quarterback will be a redshirt freshman or true freshman. Over the past few seasons, the Irish have had some veteran experience as backups. Noah Grubbs or redshirt freshman Blake Hebert have taken a snap in a college football game and the same will be true for fellow 2026 quarterback Teddy Jarrard who arrives this summer after reclassifying from the 2027 class.
Grubbs has had a promising spring and is instilling confidence in many about the status of the Notre Dame quarterback room behind Carr. Once summer hits, there will be a three-way battle for the No. 2 quarterback spot in South Bend and Grubbs might enter than conversation in pole position. The Blue Gold game will be our first opportunity to see the 6-4, 209-pound Florida native in a game-like setting. I'm very interested to see how Grubbs performs on this stage.
Elijah Burress - Wide Receiver No. 17
Another player I'm anxious to see in the spring game is redshirt freshman wide receiver Elijah Burress who many have tabbed as a breakout candidate for the 2026 season. The outlook on Notre Dame's wide receiver room is significantly different in years past with players like Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse and Micah Gilbert returning along with key additions from Ohio State Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter. There's countless players on breakout watch, and Burress is amongst them.
There's other candidates to consider like Gilbert or fellow 2024 class mate Cam William but we've seen both of them have impactful spring game performances. Burress has the opportunity to crack the six-man rotation this offseason and get some meaningful minutes this fall. The Blue Gold game, and his performance, will be a part of his evaluation moving forward. He's a gifted player and one that has the chance to breakout this year. I'm excited to see what he can do on Saturday.
James Flanigan - Tight End No. 88
As things stand right now, the Notre Dame tight end room is relatively up for grabs. Redshirt junior Cooper Flanagan is back from injury, former Arkansas transfer Ty Washington is headed into his second year with the team and redshirt sophomore Jack Larsen is off to his best offseason in South Bend. Rising redshirt freshman James Flanigan is amongst the players to keep your eye on Saturday afternoon.
He started to prove his worth as a blocker in 2025 and could become and impactful player in the pass game this season. Flanigan has the opportunity to be a solid all-around tight end for the Irish offense this season and a strong performance in the spring game would continue to vault him up the two-deep rotation.
Matty Augustine - Offensive Lineman No. 58
The first team offensive line is set and once Ashton Craig gets back from injury, we'll see it at it's full strength. For now, left tackle Will Black, left guard Anthonie Knapp, center Joe Otting, right guard Sullivan Absher and right tackle Guerby Lambert have all had really impressive springs. Another player that's really starting to come into his own is redshirt freshman Matty Augustine who is considered the 'next man in' at every spot on the offensive line outside of center.
The work he's going to get with the second team offensive line will be extremely telling in this year's spring game. He'll likely get played at multiple spots throughout the afternoon and will be going against Notre Dame's second team defensive line which will likely feature some combination of Keon Keeley, Loghan Thomas, Francis Brewu, Elijah Hughes and Christopher Burgess. The talent he'll be facing will be a good gauge in how he's been performing.
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