Drafting your 2026 Notre Dame Football “MY BOYS”

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Here we go again.

A tradition dating back to the 2022 season, debuting on the podcast formerly known as the One Foot Down podcast now, returns for a fifth season.

Synopsis: Obviously, you root for Notre Dame, which means you root for every player on the roster. But there are certain guys on the team who lease space in your heart. Whether it’s because of their personal story, recruiting pedigree, play style, jersey number, or some other je ne sais quoi you appreciate, these guys are the ones who make you say, “that’s my boy” when they make a play.

Catch: As a somewhat arbitrary restriction, you have to limit your list to five players. And as a not-totally-arbitrary restriction to make it more interesting, I suggest you limit yourself to one player per position. That’s what I’ll be doing anyway, and this year I have to start from scratch after an exodus of my entire roster of boys. So better get to it.

Aneyas Williams

This is the most prominent player you’ll see on this list. It’s not really in keeping with the spirit of it to go for all the top guys who are going to make every single play, but it’s smart to invest stock in one low-risk player you’ll get to cheer for regularly. So I can indulge in an RB1 who’s been overlooked by many this offseason.

The oversight is understandable. Williams isn’t Jeremiyah Love or (my former boy) Jadarian Price. There’s no shame in that. Nor is there shame in fighting through a lingering elbow injury for an entire season while stuck behind two first-round NFL Draft picks and getting a position coach disinclined to go three-deep. 

I just can’t get past the fact that Williams makes plays when he’s on the field. Yes, a lot of them are against backups or teams otherwise waving the white flag. That doesn’t take away from his effort, or the fact he sparked Notre Dame against Penn State in the Orange Bowl as a true freshman. Health permitting, Williams is going to be around a 1,500-yard all-purpose player in 2026 and has the kind of chip on his shoulder that makes him fun to watch.

Joe Otting

I was struggling to pick an obligatory offensive lineman for this list, and then I remembered Otting is from Kansas. And when I looked at his roster profile, I found he’s from Topeka, Kansas. Fans of the 1996 Nicholas Cage/Sean Connery action-thriller “The Rock” know the significance of Topeka, Kansas. And then the roster page also reminded me that Otting went to Hayden High School. That makes this a no-brainer.

Otting repped in blowouts last season against Purdue, Arkansas and NC State but was thrust into the starting lineup against USC after Ashton Craig tore his ACL. That was Notre Dame’s second-best rushing performance of the year (behind only the 77-7 Syracuse demolition). Was that buoyed by Jeremiyah Love’s talent and a questionable USC game plan to take away the pass and let a Heisman finalist go for 228 on the ground? Sure, but Otting was impressive nonetheless in a tough call to action. 

Upon Craig’s return to the lineup (which may be as early as week 1), Otting will likely be relegated to the bench again given the entrenchment at three spots (Will Black and Guerby Lambert at the tackles, Anthonie Knapp at left guard) and the ongoing right guard battle between Matty Augustine and Sullivan Absher. But with an injury-prone player ahead of him and offensive line attrition a high likelihood, Otting is a dependable backup.

Jason Onye

With the offensive/defensive line-driven program Freeman has spouted (and is now backing up more and more on the recruiting trail), I certainly can’t now go away from having one player on each side of the trenches. After a good run by Gabriel Rubio in my boys, Onye’s up to bat. 

Onye probably shouldn’t even be on the roster right now. He was fortunate to get an NCAA waiver for a sixth season based on time missed in 2024 for personal reasons. That’s an easy story to root for.

A lot of the hype Freeman gave Onye during fall camp 2025 felt more like a plea for a defensive lineman to step up than real promise. But this year should be different considering (1) Onye isn’t coming off of only a quarter of a season played and (2) he should have better players around him on the interior and edges to siphon defensive attention. I expect his somewhat modest 3.5 career tackles for loss and 3.5 career sacks to potentially double (or more) this season.

Jaiden Ausberry

“Unheralded” is probably the perfect word for Ausberry. Could you think of a single play Ausberry has made? He recovered Adon Shuler’s forced fumble against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Other than that, he was the only Irish player (except maybe Jeremiyah Love) to have a good game against Northern Illinois in 2024. So maybe the better metric is to try and think of whether Ausberry has ever made a bad play, and not one comes to my mind.

In a linebacker room headlined by potentially the best player in America (KVA), a third-year starter and soon-to-be two-time captain (Drayk Bowen), and a former five-star who everyone hopes will finally put the pieces together on his pedigree (Jaylen Sneed), Ausberry is the unsung guy. He’s also one from whom you can reliably expect solid-if-not-flashy play, consistent production, and a nose for the football. And with the five-for-five NCAA rule being implemented, he’s a likely returnee in 2026 after KVA and Bowen almost certainly jump to the pros and Sneed runs out of eligibility.

Cam Williams

This pick is most in line with what this exercise is about. Williams is a former five-star recruit at Notre Dame’s weakest position group of recent memory. And, yet, he’s not being shouldered with the expectations of turning that around. 

In that respect, the Jordan Johnson contrast is interesting (all due respect to Johnson, who unfairly carried the torch on a lot of wide receiver mishandling by the prior coaching regime). Williams has been content (and, apparently, self-aware enough) to bide his time developing his raw talent while getting his education and preparing for a likely career off the football field. That’s admirable and makes him easy to pull for. 

Notre Dame’s wide receiver depth chart having a clear No. 1 through No. 5 on the hierarchy. Still, the entire position group — save for Jordan Faison — is unproven or inconsistent enough (looking at you, Jaden Greathouse) that Williams still has a chance to break into the rotation this season. That would probably do more for his development than simulated practice reps can. I realize its unlikely on a team focused on winning a championship this season, but the puzzle pieces falling together on Williams is a high-risk, high-reward proposition I’ll buy.

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