Notre Dame 2-Deep

[jprue24]

What’s the RB, WR and TE rooms looking like at ND - particularly the RB room? Hard to replace Love and Price, but ND has had solid backs for a while now it seems. The offensive line, I trust will be a top 5 unit per usual.

Not a big concern

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

The backs on the team might not end up being first round draft picks, but they're still studs.

 

[Domer Dude]

What’s the RB, WR and TE rooms looking like at ND - particularly the RB room? Hard to replace Love and Price, but ND has had solid backs for a while now it seems. The offensive line, I trust will be a top 5 unit per usual.

Notre Dame's running back room is a full rebuild after losing Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL, but there's real talent behind them. Here's the breakdown, 1 through 4:

1. Aneyas Williams (Jr.) — the presumptive starter and most experienced back left on the roster. He averaged 9.3 yards per carry last year in a limited backfield role behind Love/Price (24 carries, 224 yards, 5 TDs), was banged up for much of 2025, and is reportedly fully healthy now. Coaches see him as more of a tough, downhill 1A option than a home-run hitter — not confirmed as a returning starter since he didn't start games last year, but he's RB1 heading into 2026.

2. Nolan James Jr. (RS Fr.) — up to 215 pounds, and specifically singled out as the technique example RB coach Ja'Juan Seider uses to teach younger backs. Good combination of short-area burst and power; expected to carve out a real role in the rotation.

3. Kedren Young (RS So.) — the wild card. At roughly 5-11, 230, he's the biggest back on the roster by 15+ pounds and flashed real upside as a true freshman before tearing his ACL, which wiped out his entire 2025 season and all of spring practice. If healthy, some believe he has the most well-rounded skill set of anyone in the room and profiles as a short-yardage/power option at minimum — but health is a genuine question mark heading into camp.

4th and beyond — the true freshmen:

Jonaz Walton — 208 lbs with legit long speed (10.5 in the 100m), impressed in spring. Profiles as a change-of-pace/home-run threat, but the expectation is a limited 2026 role while he's developed for a bigger 2027 workload. He's viewed as next man up if injuries hit the top three.

Javian Osborne — 5-9, 200, has been limited this offseason recovering from a wrist injury. Regarded as arguably the more physically gifted of the two freshmen, with elite short-area explosiveness, natural receiving hands, and a low center of gravity. Whether he cracks the 2026 rotation or gets redshirted/eased in for 2027 is still an open question.

Bottom line from the beat reporting: expect a committee of at least three backs (Williams, James, and whichever of Young/the freshmen earns trust), rather than a bell-cow workload like Love had. It's also explicitly noted that it's "far from a guarantee" both Williams and Young stay in the two-deep all season given the level of competition behind them.

 

[Domer Dude]

What’s the RB, WR and TE rooms looking like at ND - particularly the RB room? Hard to replace Love and Price, but ND has had solid backs for a while now it seems. The offensive line, I trust will be a top 5 unit per usual.

Notre Dame's receiver room is the deepest it's been in years, split across three spots (boundary, field, slot) with real freshman intrigue mixed in.

Boundary

1. Quincy Porter (RS Fr., Ohio State transfer) — 6-4, 210. The clear frontrunner once healthy; he's the size element ND has lacked outside, though he's still working back from a January knee injury and missed all of spring.

2. Micah Gilbert (RS So.) — 6-2, 205. Flashed with a TD in the season opener at Miami last year before a hand injury derailed his redshirt freshman year. Presumptive starter if Porter isn't ready.

3. Jerome Bettis Jr. (So.) — 6-2, 207. Redshirted in 2025, bulked up significantly this offseason. Profiles as a big-bodied, contested-catch safety valve and a strong blocker — a name gaining real buzz this summer.

4. Devin Fitzgerald (true Fr.) — 6-2, 205. Larry Fitzgerald's son; described by 18 Stripes as the most impressive true freshman on offense this spring. Long-shot to crack the true two-deep, but a name to know.

Field

1. Jordan Faison (Sr.) — 5-10, 185. Led the team in catches in 2025 (49 for 640 yards) and started all 12 games. The unquestioned security blanket for Carr.

2. Cam Williams (RS So.) — high 4-star recruit who hasn't broken through yet, but is competing for time at both the Z and boundary spots this camp.

3. Elijah Burress (RS Fr.) — Plaxico Burress's son. Redshirted in 2025 but caught TDs from Carr in the final two Saturdays of spring practice, including a 25-yarder in the scrimmage.

4. Kaydon Finley (true Fr.) — 4-star, son of former NFL TE Jermichael Finley. Talented but reportedly acclimating to the college game a bit slower than expected early on.

Slot

1. Mylan Graham (RS So., Ohio State transfer) — 6-1, 195. The buzziest name in the room after a strong spring; some believe he could be ND's most dangerous receiver in 2026 despite catching just 6 passes in two years at OSU.

2. Jaden Greathouse (RS Jr.) — 6-1, 210. Started the first two games of 2025 before a severe hamstring injury ended his season. Elite talent when healthy (13 catches, 233 yards, 3 TDs in the 2024 CFP run) but durability is the real question — a legitimate wild card either direction.

3. Logan Saldate (RS So.) — depth piece behind Graham/Greathouse.

4. Bubba Frazier (true Fr.) — 5-10, 182. Standout of spring practice; versatile enough to line up outside, in the slot, or even at running back. Most likely path onto the field in 2026 is as a return specialist given how stacked the receiver room is ahead of him.

Further down the board:
Brayden Robinson (true Fr., 4-star, still working back from a knee injury dating to high school) and Dylan Faison (true Fr., Jordan's younger brother, currently prioritizing lacrosse with his football role on hold) round out the room but aren't expected to factor into 2026 playing time.

The overall picture: Faison is the only true "known" returning starter; everyone else is either coming off injury (Porter, Greathouse, Gilbert), a transfer with limited game tape (Graham), or unproven (the freshman class). It's a room with a very high ceiling but real uncertainty about who's actually healthy and producing come September.

 

[Domer Dude]

What’s the RB, WR and TE rooms looking like at ND - particularly the RB room? Hard to replace Love and Price, but ND has had solid backs for a while now it seems. The offensive line, I trust will be a top 5 unit per usual.

Notre Dame's tight end room is much thinner than the RB or WR groups, and it's the one skill position group without a truly proven, healthy returning starter — Ian Premer's arrival makes this room worth watching closely in camp.

1. Cooper Flanagan (RS Jr.) — the presumptive starter entering fall, and reportedly had a strong spring after a torn Achilles wiped out virtually all of his 2025 season (he played just 4 snaps in one game). Was a quality run-blocker in 2024 before the injury; health is the swing factor for how big his role actually is.

2. James Flanigan (RS Fr.) — Notre Dame deliberately capped him at 4 games in 2025 to preserve his redshirt, so he's essentially a "new" player with untapped upside. Reporting suggests it would be a surprise if he's not a key rotation piece in 2026, at minimum as a strong point-of-attack run blocker.

3. Ty Washington (RS Sr.) — the room's veteran; modest 2025 production (5 catches, 34 yards, 1 TD), but experienced depth and a trusted blocker.

4. Jack Larsen — camp preview coverage frames him as needing to take a real leap this offseason or risk getting passed by the younger tight ends below him on the chart.

The freshman wildcard: Ian Premer — a true freshman and 5-star, the No. 1 (or No. 3, depending on service) tight end in the 2026 class. He didn't enroll early, but multiple reports out of summer workouts say he's already turning heads, and given how unsettled the room is at the top, there's a real chance he factors into the rotation immediately rather than redshirting.

5. Preston Fryzel (true Fr.) — 6-4, 220, a 3-star developmental prospect out of Toledo. Down the depth chart for 2026, more of a name for 2027 and beyond.

Note on Kevin Bauman: he was part of this room in past years but medically retired after tearing his knee in fall camp 2025 — his fourth major left-leg injury in five seasons — so he's no longer part of the 2026 picture.

Bottom line: this is a "prove it" room. Nobody in the top four has a clean, healthy, productive season on their résumé, which is exactly why Premer's readiness is such a storyline heading into camp.

 

[WineGate]

Holy Claude

 

[notredamermotherpray4us]

Great work Domer Dude! Very nice breakdown

 

[Rocketman84]

What’s the RB, WR and TE rooms looking like at ND - particularly the RB room? Hard to replace Love and Price, but ND has had solid backs for a while now it seems. The offensive line, I trust will be a top 5 unit per usual.

The RB room is very talented but is lacking in experience aside from Williams. The room has Williams, Young, James, Walton and Osborne which is basically a room full of 4⭐s and a 5⭐ in my opinion.

 

[Rocketman84]

The backs on the team might not end up being first round draft picks, but they're still studs.

The FR have 1st Rd potential, I could see Williams going in the 3rd and the others could be mid round guys.

 

[allenm5333]

The FR have 1st Rd potential, I could see Williams going in the 3rd and the others could be mid round guys.

No rb has first round potential. We got blessed with 2 on one team. Very few rbs are first round caliber

 

[BeauBenken]

Not a big concern

He really is just so hard for people in the second and third levels to tackle. No one has any success tackling him high. Very capable of being bell cow. Also has the ability to catch out of the backfield.

I don't think most teams would be able to keep a great running back room after losing two in the draft, and yet here we are. Also a plus that we have a load of talented youngsters behind Aneyas.

 

[GreenGemsOmally]

Not a big concern

I love his TD run vs Arkansas. There was absolutely no need to cut right and throw the blocker into the defender but he did anyways and still scored. It's kind of hilarious to me, tbh.

 

[Rocketman84]

Osborne definitely has 1st Rd potential, especially after seeing Price go in the 1st. I'm sure you didn't think that either

No rb has first round potential. We got blessed with 2 on one team. Very few rbs are first round caliber

 

[allenm5333]

Osborne definitely has 1st Rd potential, especially after seeing Price go in the 1st. I'm sure you didn't think that either

Love him as a college back. But don’t see a first round skillset. I will be incredibly happy if i am wrong

 

[Rocketman84]

*Returning Starter

OFFENSE

Pos	1st team	2nd team
QB	CJ Carr*	Blake Hebert OR Noah Grubbs
RB	Aneyas Williams	Kedren Young AND/OR Nolan James Jr.
ZWR	Micah Gilbert	Quincy Porter AND/OR Devin Fitzgerald
XWR	Jordan Faison*	Cam Williams
WR (Slot)	Mylan Graham	Jaden Greathouse AND Bubba Frazier
TE	Cooper Flanagan	James Flanigan AND/OR Ian Premer
LT	Will Black	Styles Prescod
LG	Anthonie Knapp*	Devan Houstan AND/OR Chris Terek
C	Ashton Craig*	Joe Otting* AND Cam Herron
RG	Sullivan Absher*	Matty Augustine AND Charles Jagusah
RT	Guerby Lambert*	Matty Augustine

DEFENSE

DE	Boubacar Traore*	Rodney Dunham
DT	Francis Brewu	Armel Mukam AND Cole Mullins
NT	Jason Onye* AND/OR Tionne Gray	Elijah Hughes
DE	Bryce Young*	Keon Keeley
MLB	Drayk Bowen* AND K. Viliamu-Asa*	Madden Faraimo
WLB	Jaiden Ausberry*	Jaylen Sneed
BCB	Leonard Moore*	Jayden Sanders
FS	Tae Johnson*	Joey O'Brien AND Ethan Long
BS	Adon Shuler*	Luke Talich
FCB	DJ McKinney**	Mark Zackery IV AND Khary Adamas
NB	Christian Gray*	Dallas Golden*
PT	Erik Schmidt	Jasper Scaife
PK	Spencer Porath	Erik Schmidt