Mylan Graham Brings Big Play Potential To Notre Dame's Offense In 2026
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Last season, Notre Dame had one of the most explosive offenses in the country. They finished the year with 40 plays for scrimmage that went at least 30 yards which ranked No. 5 in the country. Out of those 40 plays, 24 of them were pass plays which ranked No. 20 in the country and 16 of them were rushing plays which ranked No. 4 in the country. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock in year two at South Bend had this offense rolling.
Unfortunately, some key pieces in that offense are no longer on the roster after heading off to the NFL Draft. Wide receivers Malachi Fields, Will Pauling and KK Smith, tight end Eli Raridon and star running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price accounted for the majority of the long scrimmage plays last season. Fortunately, they return receivers Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse along with running back Aneyas Williams.
Faison, Greathouse and Williams accounted for seven of the 40 long scrimmage plays last season and started to heat up as the season went on. Greathouse has one play of 30 yards or longer and it came on a crucial third down against Texas A&M. Unfortunately, injuries prevented him from contributing much more. Faison had three on the season while Williams had three on the ground which all came in the final four games of the regular season.
Receiver Matt Jeffery also accounted for one 37-yard play against Arkansas as well. Jeffrey is currently playing lacrosse but will be back with the football team for summer workouts and fall camp.
The point being, Notre Dame lost the majority of it's big-play weapons from last season. Faison does his best work in the short to intermediate game, Greathouse has to prove he can stay healthy and Williams has shown flashes but now he's stepping into the spotlight. The Irish brought in a couple of potential big-play weapons this offseason, and one of them is Ohio State transfer Mylan Graham.
Graham was a consensus four-star and Top 60 recruit coming out of high school. He was the No. 1 consensus player in Indiana in the 2024 class and was ranked a Top 10 receiver in the 2024 class by every outlet outside of 247Sports who had his as the No. 12 receiver. His career production with the Buckeyes was minimal; he caught six passes for 93 yards in 2025 for Ohio State which came against Grambling State, Wisconsin, Purdue and UCLA.
He had a strong spring game performance for the Buckeyes in 2025 where he caught four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown leaving many fans in Columbus feeling like he might be one of their next big-time receivers. Now, he's in South Bend where he can be a big play weapon in Denbrock's offense. Throughout the spring, we saw spurts of his abilities as a crisp route runner and his capabilities after the catch.
As the spring went on, he started building a rapport with returning starting quarterback CJ Carr and it showed throughout the jersey scrimmage and the spring game. Graham's skillset fits perfectly within the offense; his breakout this season would go a long way towards Notre Dame maintaining their identity as an explosive offense.
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