espn gives nd’s strengths and weakness for 2025
ESPN recently released it’s strengths and weakness for the Way Too Early Top 25. Here is what they siad about the Fighting Irish:
Strength: The secondary. Losing Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison might be a huge red flag at a lot of schools. Not at Notre Dame, where the defensive backfield remains elite. Start with sophomore corner Leonard Moore, who established himself as one of the top young prospects in the country last season, allowing less than 40% completions and racking up 11 pass breakups and two picks. Christian Gray was a solid performer on the other side, while Adon Shuler blossomed at safety. Notre Dame added a solid option at safety in Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman. The back end of the defense should be the strength of this unit, just as it was a year ago.
Weakness: Quarterback. Perhaps "weakness" is the wrong word here. Marcus Freeman likes what he has to work with at the position. But after two straight years with veteran QBs, Notre Dame will turn to someone without much playing time under his belt in 2025. Who? Well, that's the big question. Steve Angeli has a leg up based on experience -- even though he doesn't have much of it -- but redshirt freshman CJ Carr has a chance to be special. The battle to see who leads the offense will be among the most watched in all of college football, and finding the right answer might be the biggest obstacle between now and another playoff bid for Notre Dame.
Here are the strengths and weaknesses according to LLM:
Strengths:
Secondary
The depth and talent goes beyond the usual suspects named Leonard Moore, Christian Gray, and Adon Shuler. Brauntae Johnson, Luke Talich, Ben Minich, Kennedy Urlacher, and incoming freshmen like Cree Thomas, Mark Zackery, and Dallas Golden give the Fighting Irish one of the most talented and deepest secondaries in the country.
Running Back:
Jeremiyah Love, JaDarian Price, Aneyas Williams, G'i’ Bran Payne, Kedron Young, and Nolan James. Enough said!
Linebacker:
Jack Kizer was one of the best representatives of linebacker play at Notre Dame and his leadership will be missed. Now, Drayk Bowen, Jaden Ausberry, Jaylen Sneed, and KVA give the Fighting Irish and extremely athletic LB group. The addition Madden Faraimo will only bolster the group. Who will become the leader of the group?
Offensive Line:
After a topsy turvy 2024 season along the offensive line due to injury and several first time starters, this group should be buch better with guys like Amil Wagner and Anthonie Knapp having a full season under their belts. The return of Charles Jagusah and Ashton Craig should bolster in the interiro of the line, with veteran Billy Scrauth anchoring the group as a leader. Sophomore Guerby Lambert and Freshman Will Black will also be candidates to push for time at the left tackle position during fall camp.
Weaknesses:
Quarterback:
This is only a weakness because of the unknown surrounding the QBs entrenched in a competitive battle this spring. The leadership and comfort level of Steve Angeli in the offense is a good foundation for the level of play needed in the program moving forward under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. Kenny Minchey and CJ Carr are without a doubt the more physically gifted passers, but will they be ready to consistently make good decisions and distribute the football to a plethora of weapons.
Wide Receiver:
We’ll let the words of offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock speak for LLM:
“We dropped the football way too much last year,” Denbrock said. “We gotta make the plays. I don’t know if you’d call them ordinary plays, but we need to make the plays — the ones that are 100 out of 100, we gotta be 100 out of 100.”
The Notre Dame football offensive coordinator said that consistency will be key in making improvements this season.
“Consistency in depth, consistency in route running. For a receiver, to be honest with you, it really shouldn’t matter who the quarterback is. I need to understand space and spacing and depth and specifics of techniques of route running.”
