Notre Dame Football Spring Preview – What We Know And What We Don't Know
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Notre Dame kicks off their spring training tomorrow morning in South Bend. It's been 102 days since the Fighting Irish were snubbed from the playoffs paving the way for the 2026 season slogan 'Leave No Doubt'. That's exactly what head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame football program will look to do this season and it begins tomorrow morning with the beginning of spring practice.
There's a lot that we know and a lot that we don't know on each side of the ball heading into spring. Offensively, we know that CJ Carr, their returning starting quarterback is the Bonafede leader. We know that receiver Jordan Faison is on the verge of becoming a star and the depth across the board at multiple position is outstanding. Defensively, they return stars like Leonard Moore and rising stars like Boubacar Traore, Drayk Bowen, Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson.
There's also things we don't know about this team like who will play where at certain spots on defense. What will the running back rotation look like? Will the defense be more aggressive throughout the season? We discuss all of those things and preview some important position battles on today's episode of the Irish Breakdown Podcast.
You can watch the entire episode here:
Here are some of the main topics we discussed on today's episode:
On The Depth On The Offensive Side Of The Ball…
"Despite the long list of injuries that was released yesterday during the press conference, Notre Dame is still absolutely loaded at wide receiver, tight end and offensive line. Outside of Ashton Craig, Charles Jagusah and Tyler Merrill all other offensive lineman are available. The development from that room is going to be special this season. At wide receiver, everyone outside of Quincey Porter and Brayden Robinson will be available to play and the same goes for tight end. Outside of Ian Premer who will be here in the summer, everyone will be available. The position battles in some of those rooms are going to be exciting to watch."
On Going Into Year Two Of The Chris Ash System…
"The floor of this defense is exceptionally high. We talk a lot on this show about how good this unit can be and if this happens or this happens, this defense will be one of the top units in the country, maybe the best. But I even think, going into the season, that this will be at the minimum a Top 10 defense in the country. With all of these talented players going into year two of the Ash system, they'll have more clarity on their roles and be more effective on a per-snap basis. Put schematics aside, this unit as the chance to be special and it's because they're heading into their second season under the same defensive coordinator they had in 2025."
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