Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2026 Season Preview

Carr was one of the sport's best young passers as a redshirt freshman, throwing for 2,741 yards with a 24-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio while completing better than 66 percent and ranking near the top of the country in efficiency. The remarkable part is how little was asked of him, roughly 24 throws a game, which suggests a large jump is coming as the staff opens up the passing game around a deeper receiver group. He has the accuracy, poise and moxie to push into the Heisman conversation, and now has a full season of starting experience behind him. The concern is behind him: the backup competition runs through a redshirt freshman and a pair of true freshmen, so Carr's health is paramount.

Freeman has called this the deepest receiver room he has had. It starts with 2025 leading receiver Jordan Faison, who caught 49 passes for 640 yards and is a proven all-around weapon, and Jaden Greathouse, the 2024 national championship game standout who topped 590 yards that season before injuries limited him to a handful of games last fall. A healthy Greathouse gives Carr a big, physical target. Ohio State transfers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter add speed and pedigree; the quick, darting Graham profiles as a rare athletic find who should draw plenty of targets, and rising sophomore Micah Gilbert rounds out a crowded rotation. The one question is tight end, where Cooper Flanagan returns from injury and needs to reestablish himself as a genuine receiving threat, with Arkansas transfer Ty Washington in the mix.

Losing Love and Price, both early NFL departures, strips the offense of elite explosiveness, but the cupboard is far from bare. Junior Aneyas Williams flashed as a freshman and averaged better than nine yards a carry in limited touches last season, giving the Irish a burst-and-cut back with tackle-breaking ability, while redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr. and Kedren Young provide depth. A pair of highly touted true freshmen, Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne, arrive with the talent to earn early carries. This group may not replicate the Love-Price fireworks, but it has the pieces to remain productive behind a strong front.

This may be the best line Freeman has fielded in South Bend, with a large number of returning career starts anchoring the group. Rising sophomore Guerby Lambert, a veteran of last year's line, holds down right tackle, and young left tackle Will Black steps into a starring role after redshirting. Third-year starter Anthonie Knapp slides inside from left tackle to left guard, a move that should smooth out the interior. The return to health of center Ashton Craig and guard Charles Jagusah, both of whom missed most of last season with injuries, would make this a dynamic wall, with Sullivan Absher competing at guard and Joe Otting providing an experienced answer at center. If the group stays healthy, it is among the nation's finest.

Second-year coordinator Chris Ash oversees a front that added serious reinforcements. Edge rusher Boubacar Traore led the team with 6.5 sacks and is poised for national acclaim as a disruptive, long-armed presence off the edge. Inside, Jason Onye returns after being granted an extra year, and the Irish imported three of the most coveted defensive line transfers available: powerful Francis Brewu from Pitt, 6-foot-5, 330-pound Tionne Gray from Oregon, and end Keon Keeley from Alabama, a former Notre Dame commit back in the fold. Add returnees Elijah Hughes and Bryce Young, who is ready to put it all together, and this is one of the deepest and most talented lines in the country.

The second level is a strength, experienced, productive and among the best units of its kind nationally. Senior Drayk Bowen is the anchor in the middle, a sure tackler who piled up 67 stops last season and adds pass-rush juice. Alongside him, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Jaiden Ausberry give the Irish a deep, seasoned rotation that has combined for heavy production and starting experience. Jaylen Sneed and Madden Faraimo add quality depth, making this a group with few weak spots.

The secondary is the crown jewel of a unit that intercepted 21 passes, the fourth-most in the nation, on the way to a top-ten scoring defense that surrendered just 17.6 points a game. Cornerback Leonard Moore is a consensus All-American and arguably the best cover corner in college football, a true lockdown player projected as the first corner off the board in the 2027 draft. He is joined by safety Tae Johnson, a Freshman All-American who racked up 48 tackles and four interceptions and now, filled out to 200 pounds, looks like a complete player and a potential future first-round pick. Safety Adon Shuler forms a no-fly zone alongside Johnson, and veteran nickel Christian Gray brings experience and ball skills inside. Oklahoma State transfer DJ McKinney and rising sophomore Mark Zackery IV give the boundary spot opposite Moore a settled feel, making this the deepest and most complete back end Freeman has coached.

After two inconsistent seasons at placekicker, culminating in a 5-of-9 field goal campaign last fall, the Irish turned to former Purdue standout Spencer Porath, who converted 15 of 17 attempts in 2025 and should stabilize the operation. Australian Jasper Scaife takes over the punting, the second time in three years Notre Dame has looked Down Under for a leg. The return game is dangerous: Faison averaged better than ten yards a punt return, and Williams and James can handle kickoffs. Freeman's teams have produced six special-teams touchdowns in four years, a sign of how seriously the unit is coached.