Notre Dame's 2025 class fuels future offensive firepower. Watch for rising stars poised to claim starting roles and redefine the Irish attack.
The goal of any program is to continually stack recruiting classes and supplement calculated attrition with top-level talent. Notre Dame is one of the top five programs in the country that have done that under head coach Marcus Freeman and this year, with the exception of a few, all players on the 2026 roster have been recruited, signed and developed under Freeman and his coaching staffs.
There are a handful of key players that have the opportunity to emerge on the offensive side of the ball from the 2025 recruiting class. This will be a big offseason from this group and could potentially feature starting tight end, a starting offensive lineman, a key rotational running back and a dark horse at receiver that could crack the rotation as a redshirt freshman.
IMPACT PLAYERS
Offensive lineman Will Black was one of the highest rated players in the 2025 recruiting class for the Irish. He will have the opportunity to start this season following the departures of Aamil Wagner at right tackle and Billy Schrauth at left guard. Replacing two captains on the offensive line wouldn't be easy, but the talent and overall ceiling of a 6-7, 316-pound redshirt freshman certainly helps.
Tight end James Flanigan started seeing more and more snaps as the season went on. He was their best run blocking tight end towards the end of the regular season and has taken well to this off-season's strength and conditioning program. Flanigan is gearing up to make a push to start at tight end, or at least be an integral part of the rotation. The 6-6, 251-pound tight end looks the part of a No. 1 tight end, now it's time to turn the potential into production.
Running back Nolan James Jr. also has the opportunity to crack the running back rotation this season. A lot of attention is being drawn to the two returning 'veterans' and the incoming freshman, but James has all of the potential to be a No. 1 back. It's unlikely he will be the starting running back day one, but his breakout this offseason could force the hand of running back coach Ja'Juan Seider to go deeper into his back and play a three-back rotation.
Finally, kicker Erik Schmidt is heading into his second year in South Bend and will be battling it out this offseason to be the No. 1 kicker. The kicking game struggled mightily last season, and that's putting it lightly. A lot was placed on the leg of Schmidt as a true freshman. If he wins the starting job over an incoming freshman and incoming transfer, all eyes will be on the rising sophomore.
STARTING CALIBER
Receiver Elijah Burress is a dark horse in Mike Brown's room to crack the receiver rotation. He has all the talent in the world, but will have to work on elevating his performance as a football player this offseason. The 6-1, 186-pound redshirt freshman will have the opportunity to grow and crack the rotation this offseason. Will he start in 2026?
Likely no, but Burress has starting-caliber talent that can and should be utilized in 2026 if he earns his spot in the rotation. If he does, that means as a redshirt freshman he's viewed in the same light as Jaden Greathouse, Jordan Faison, Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter which would be extremely impressive from a second-year player.
DEPTH PLAYERS
There will be a lot of depth found in this class, and it starts at the quarterback position. Redshirt freshman Blake Hebert will be in competition this offseason to win the No. 2 job backing up CJ Carr. The 6-3, 225-pound quarterback looks the part and has all of the physical tools to be the No. 2 guy, but he'll have to develop as a quarterback, work on his mechanics and improve his processing ability. Hebert benefitted from being a super early enrollee last season.
Several depth pieces will be found on the offensive line including Cam Herron at center, Matty Augustine and Owen Strebig at tackle. Barring injury, it's unlikely any player from this trio enters the starting lineup, but it's not behind the realm of possibility that their number gets called at some point throughout the season given the recent injury history in the offensive line room.
Finally, is receiver Jerome Bettis Jr., a name extremely familiar amongst the Notre Dame fan base. The 6-2, 199-pound receiver likely won't crack the rotation this upcoming season, but provides good depth and a strong potential special teams impact this upcoming season.
CLASS EXPECTATIONS
The name of the game for this class is development. They're all heading into year two of their collegiate careers. The 2025 class now understands the schedule and routine of a premier program and will have to put all of their efforts in being the best players they can be. Cracking the rotation, being named a starter or finding a spot on the two-deep depth chart is a by-product of individual development. Even for a player like Black who will have every opportunity to crack the starting lineup.
Other players like Flanigan, Burress and James Jr. will also have to focus on individual development to achieve the ultimate team goal. At some point, key players in this class will have their number called upon this upcoming season. It will be on the coaching staff to get them ready and it will be up to the members of the 2025 recruiting class to stay ready when their opportunity presents itself.
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