The Way Too Early Starting Lineups for 2025

[T-Boone]

…

 

[irishnd31]

Is Jayden Thomas coming back? I can’t recall if he is. I can’t even recall why I am asking.

he transferred.

 

[stlnd01]

Don’t Young (big end) and Traore (vyper) typically play on opposite sides of the line? I hope to see them on the field at the same time quite often.

Except in practice against Carr, apparently.

 

[GoIrish41]

Is Jayden Thomas coming back? I can’t recall if he is. I can’t even recall why I am asking.

Transferred to Virginia

 

[Rudy89]

I'd like someone to do the all time worst starters team. Davie era and forward

Brandon Walker at kicker would be on that team. The total opposite of clutch.

 

[Domina Nostra]

Fellas, are we winning the natty with this team?

QB: Clausen
RB: Love
WR: Fuller
WR: Floyd
WR: Tate
TE: Eifert
LT: Alt
LG: Nelson
C: Martin
RG: Schrauth
RT: McGlinchey

DE: Tuitt
DE: Foskey
DT: Day
DT: Nix
LB: Teo
LB: Smith
NB: Clark
CB: Morrison
CB: Moore
S: Hamilton
S: Watts

Stanley over McGlinchey, Okwara over Foskey + Tillery over Day

And I would take Zach Martin over Alt.

 

[NDMatt91]

I'd like someone to do the all time worst starters team. Davie era and forward

Here are some that came to mind for me:

WR: George West
LT: Paul Duncan
RG: Dan Wenger
DE: Dwight Stephenson Jr.
DE: Justin Brown
LB: Anthony Vernaglia
LB: John Ryan

 

[Crazy Balki]

Fellas, are we winning the natty with this team?

QB: Clausen (Replace him with Brady Quinn. Better pocket presence and better leader)
RB: Love
WR: Fuller
WR: Floyd
WR: Tate
TE: Eifert (I'd lean towards either Rudolph or Mayer)
LT: Alt
LG: Nelson
C: Martin
RG: Schrauth (As much as I think Schrauth is a beast, I'd replace him with Zack Martin. Easily one of, if not, the best guard in the league over the past decade)
RT: McGlinchey (Leaning towards Stanley here)

DE: Tuitt (I move Tuitt inside. For DE, either Justin Tuck or Julian Okwara)
DE: Foskey
DT: Day (Replace Day with Tuitt here. Love Day, but Tuitt is 6'6 305. He's a DT in a 4 down scheme)
DT: Nix
LB: Teo
LB: Smith
NB: Clark (Clark was incredible, but I'd push for Julian Love here. A corner group of Love, Morrison and Moore is insane)
CB: Morrison
CB: Moore
S: Hamilton
S: Watts

Up top.

 

[CIrishWin]

1st team 2nd team 3rd team



QB S. Angeli K. Minchey C.J. Carr

RB J. Love J. Price A. Williams

WR M. Fields C. Williams M. Gilbert

WR J, Greathouse L. Saldate E. Burress

WR J. Faison W. Pauling KK Smith

TE E. Raridon C. Flannagan K. Bauman

OT C, Jagusah S. Absher W. Black

OG A. Knapp S. Presod C. Terek

C A. Craig J. Otting C. Herron

OG B. Schrauth P. Jones M. Augustine

OT A. Wagner G. Lambert O, Strebig



Vyper J. Botelho B. Traore L. Thomas

NT J. Dawson D. Hinish A. Mukam

DT G. Rubio J. Onye E. Hughes

DE B. Young J. Burnham J. Tuihalamaka

Rov J. Sneed J. Ausberry K. Urlacher

MLB D. Bowen P. Zinter M. Faraimo

WLB K. Viliamu-Asa K. Kia B. Kahoun

Nickel D. Smith K. Hobbs D. Golden

CB C. Gray B. Johnson C. Thomas

CB L. Moore C. Tucker M. Zachery

S A. Shuler L. Talich T. Bennie-Powell

S J. Stroman J. Blair B. Minich



Who knows at QB at this point.
Tired to use everybody on the roster realize some players will play more than one position.

 

[Dizzyphil]

I'd like to see a lot more Urlacher this year.

 

[ViewsFromTheDome]

I'd like to see a lot more Urlacher this year.

I agree and I dont get the Stroman hype AT ALL. I don't see Stroman playing more than him

 

[Dizzyphil]

I agree and I dont get the Stroman hype AT ALL. I don't see Stroman playing more than him

Well, he's behind Shuler and Johnson right now but, Urlacher just has that natural instinct for the ball. It's been a long time since I trusted a HC at ND and if MFMF and Defensive Staff see him as third - there is a reason. Just watching him last year though.... he was fast to the ball and I didn't see any missed tackles. - of course I drink - a lot - during the game so I could have missed him missing a tackle or two..... jus say'n

 

[Dale]

 

[Dale]

This is either elite rage bait or embarrassing to run a ND football Twitter account and be passionate Bowen doesn’t start

 

[Dizzyphil]

This is either elite rage bait or embarrassing to run a ND football Twitter account and be passionate Bowen doesn’t start

Our Lads have it this way -

 

[Dale]

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

what?!? Just saw this.

I'll be stunned if Bryce Young isn't a starter, along with Traore. And I'm a huge Botelho fan and if he and Traore fully recover, they'll have a healthy rotation between (I would expect). Big fan of Sneed but hard to see him displacing Bowen unless he take a monumental leap. Lots of playing time for both.

I'm a huge Ausberry fan but he seems to get washed out/overpursue in the middle and he's not big enough to shed/redirect against OL. He's a helluva athlete without a real position. He needs to be like 10-15 lbs lighter and play more of a safety role, this uneducated poster thinks.

 

[Irish du Nord]

what?!? Just saw this.

I'll be stunned if Bryce Young isn't a starter, along with Traore. And I'm a huge Botelho fan and if he and Traore fully recover, they'll have a healthy rotation between (I would expect). Big fan of Sneed but hard to see him displacing Bowen unless he take a monumental leap. Lots of playing time for both.

I'm a huge Ausberry fan but he seems to get washed out/overpursue in the middle and he's not big enough to shed/redirect against OL. He's a helluva athlete without a real position. He needs to be like 10-15 lbs lighter and play more of a safety role, this uneducated poster thinks.

The DEs rotate so much I wouldn’t be shocked if they kept the older two guys as nominal starters. Same goes for Donny and Rubio

 

[Me2SouthBend]

what?!? Just saw this.

I'll be stunned if Bryce Young isn't a starter, along with Traore. And I'm a huge Botelho fan and if he and Traore fully recover, they'll have a healthy rotation between (I would expect). Big fan of Sneed but hard to see him displacing Bowen unless he take a monumental leap. Lots of playing time for both.

I'm a huge Ausberry fan but he seems to get washed out/overpursue in the middle and he's not big enough to shed/redirect against OL. He's a helluva athlete without a real position. He needs to be like 10-15 lbs lighter and play more of a safety role, this uneducated poster thinks.

Black as your starting LT? Not happening. Not even on campus yet. Tells me all I need to know about this projection.

 

[317Irish]

And Knapp? lol

 

[FWIrish4]

So are we down to basically a QB competition with almost all other positions settled? 2nd safety spot and the DT/WR rotation is really all I can think of. Linebacker has plenty of talent to fill Kiser’s void.

What a great spot to be after a national title appearance.

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

The first round of the draft made me feel even better about the direction of the ND program. ND finished 2nd to Ohio State.

Ohio State had 4 first round picks (not including the eventual top 3 pick in Smith).
Michigan wildly underperformed last season, squandering 3 first rounders.
Penn State sent two guys in the top 15 of the first round.
Georgia and Bama both put two in the first round.


ND - zero first rounders, one would've been taken barring injury. ND beating all but one of these teams, each of which had some premier talent at various positions, is a reason to be very optimistic moving forward. Freeman and his coaches are identifying talent and maximizing that talent on the field. Fun to watch a coach and university who move in lockstep.

Also, everyone believes there is young first round/early round talent all over the roster. Exciting time to be an Irish fan.

 

[stlnd01]

The first round of the draft made me feel even better about the direction of the ND program. ND finished 2nd to Ohio State.

Ohio State had 4 first round picks (not including the eventual top 3 pick in Smith).
Michigan wildly underperformed last season, squandering 3 first rounders.
Penn State sent two guys in the top 15 of the first round.
Georgia and Bama both put two in the first round.


ND - zero first rounders, one would've been taken barring injury. ND beating all but one of these teams, each of which had some premier talent at various positions, is a reason to be very optimistic moving forward. Freeman and his coaches are identifying talent and maximizing that talent on the field. Fun to watch a coach and university who move in lockstep.

Also, everyone believes there is young first round/early round talent all over the roster. Exciting time to be an Irish fan.

Yep. We played against 10 first round picks on four different teams, and won three of those games. With no first-round picks ourselves.

I don't always know how much to weigh individually talented players vs. overall good/well-coached teams, but I know I'd much rather be the latter. Because while having first-round draft picks is fun, winning big games is funner.

 

[ViewsFromTheDome]

Yep. We played against 10 first round picks on four different teams, and won three of those games. With no first-round picks ourselves.

I don't always know how much to weigh individually talented players vs. overall good/well-coached teams, but I know I'd much rather be the latter. Because while having first-round draft picks is fun, winning big games is funner.

I would rather have no talent and lose, than lose with a bunch of 1st rounders