Irish stars showcased NFL-caliber talent. Discover standout performances, surprising sit-outs, and critical testing numbers from Notre Dame's pivotal Pro Day.
We're now 30 days away from the 2026 NFL Draft which means athletes across the country are participating in their Pro Days to make one final impression on several NFL scouts and coaches. Today, Notre Dame held their annual pro day inside of the Irish Athletics center where 15 players, seven offensive players, six defensive players and two special team players, performed in front of at least 19 NFL organizations.
There were some familiar faces that performed down in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine earlier this offseason. This was also the opportunity for several key members of the 2025 team to showcase their abilities in front of numerous scouts and coaches. There were some standouts, and some surprise sit-outs from this afternoon's performance, but it's safe to say that Notre Dame's number of NFL draftees will be relatively high.
TESTING NUMBERS
OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCES
Obviously, we weren't going to see star running back Jeremiyah Love in any capacity this afternoon but he was there in support of his teammates. We did see fellow running back Jadarian Price participate in the 20-yard shuttle run and in the pass catching drills. Former walk on running back Jake Tafelski was the only running back who participated in the position-specific drills this afternoon. Oddly enough, we didn't see Price attempt to lower his official 4.49 40-yard dash time from down in Indianapolis.
The same could be said for wide receiver Malachi Fields and tight end Eli Raridon who both elected to sit out of the 40-yard dash this afternoon. Fields posted an official time of 4.61 while Raridon posted an official time of 4.62 earlier this month down in Indianapolis. Nonetheless, both players performed well and didn't drop a single pass running routes on air. Both players benefitted from catching passes from current Fighting Irish starting quarterback CJ Carr.
Wide receiver, and former Notre Dame captain, Will Pauling stole the show offensively with his impressive testing numbers. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash of the afternoon clocking an official 4.37 40-yard dash. Pauling's 4.37 time would have been tied with Oregon's Malik Benson and Tennessee's Chris Brazzell II who ran the 40-yard dash at the combine. The Ohio native also recorded the second highest vertical jump of the afternoon.
Both offensive lineman, Billy Schrauth and Aamil Wagner, participated in the on-field drills, but it was interesting seeing Schrauth sit out of the testing portion of Notre Dame's Pro Day. Schrauth elected to sit out of the testing down in Indianapolis earlier this month with the expectation that he'd do the bench press, three cone drill, 20-yard shuttle, the 40-yard dash, his vertical jump and broad jump this afternoon.
DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES
Today was our first opportunity to see any Notre Dame defensive players in this capacity. Only offensive players were invited down the the NFL Combine and some of the former Fighting Irish defensive standouts took advantage of their opportunities. Defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio led the team in the bench press putting up an impressive 26 reps which was four more than the next closest player. Rubio participated in every drill and completed every test in front of various scouts.
Fellow defensive lineman Jordan Botelho, Junior Tuihalamaka and Jared Dawson also had a solid day at the combine. I would have liked to see Dawson put up more than the 20 reps he did on the bench press, but his other testing numbers, including his 32" vertical jump, were solid. Dawson's also put out enough quality film to sneak into the later round of the draft. Botelho ran the fastest 40-yard dash time of the defensive line group; the one player who might have been able to challenge his time amongst the defensive lineman, Tuihalamaka, elected to forgo running his 40.
On the back end, we got to see both safety Jalen Stroman and nickel corner DeVonta Smith. Stroman put up decent testing numbers running a 4.69 40-yard dash, a 36" vertical jump and performed well during the on-field drills. Smith stole the show defensively putting up an impressive 43" vertical jump which led all players today, a 4.41 20-yard shuttle which was second on the defense and looked impressive during the on-field drills as well.
The 2026 NFL Draft is only a month away and there's several former Irish standouts who hope to hear their names called in the sevens rounds of the draft. There are some players like Love and Price who are more obvious, but other players like Smith, Stroman and Pauling who put in quality work this afternoon to boost their draft stock. Now, we sit back and wait to see who's taken.
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