Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/1518481
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 19 the ones. Those dudes in four practices have really improved. Ben has gotten more reps with the twos, but Ben has shown a lot of growth too. "All three of those guys are going to help us in some way." Bouncing back to the front seven, Boubacar Traore is the reserve defen- sive lineman who's repped as high as a No. 2 and might be set to do much more than appear for 27 defensive snaps. PFF graded him has Notre Dame's No. 1 pass rusher, albeit for just 12 pass- rush snaps. But we are talking about a guy who sacked Heisman Trophy win- ner Caleb Williams, so maybe there is something to that statistic. We'll find out in his second season. ✦ Players Signed: 24 Players Available In 2024: 22 (WR Rico Flores Jr. transferred to UCLA and WR Braylon James transferred to TCU) 2023 Team Recruiting Rankings: No. 10 by On3, No. 12 by 247Sports and No. 11 by Rivals Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Sullivan Absher OL 6-7 325 Did not appear in a game as a true freshman until the Sun Bowl; he logged 6 snaps on offense against Oregon State. Jaiden Ausberry LB 6-2 220 Redshirted having only played 21 snaps in three games but could be one of Notre Dame's biggest leapers from Year 1 to Year 2. Micah Bell CB 5-10 177 Made three appearances, including the Sun Bowl … Could be Notre Dame's No. 2 nickel in 2024 behind Arizona State transfer Jordan Clark. Drayk Bowen LB 6-2 234 Third-highest-ranked recruit in the class … Special teams staple as a true freshman and is positioning himself as a starter in 2024. Jordan Faison WR 5-10 179 Came to Notre Dame on a lacrosse scholarship, but that converted to a football scholarship when he made his gridiron debut at Louisville Oct. 7. Cooper Flanagan TE 6-6 249 Played in all 13 games as a rookie, including a pair of starts … Caught 1 pass all year, which was a 19-yard touchdown versus Pitt. Rico Flores Jr. WR 6-2 205 Led all Notre Dame wide receivers with 27 catches for 392 yards and 1 touchdown … Transferred to UCLA. Christian Gray CB 6-0 188 Competing with junior Jaden Mickey for a starting nod after grading out as Notre Dame's seventh-best defensive player per Pro Football Focus. Jaden Greathouse WR 6-1 205 Led Notre Dame with 5 touchdown catches to go along with 18 receptions for 265 yards despite dealing with a nagging hamstring injury for much of the season. Devan Houstan DL 6-4 285 Played in 6 snaps against Wake Forest on Senior Day in what was ultimately a redshirt season. Charles Jagusah OL 6-7 329 Arrived at Notre Dame with a lingering knee issue and played only 5 snaps before the Sun Bowl, in which he started at left tackle and did enough to project himself as a starter there in 2024. Braylon James WR 6-2 202 Transferred to TCU after playing 22 snaps and catching 1 pass for 12 yards. Jeremiyah Love RB 6-0 196 Finished second among all Notre Dame players with 71 carries … Could end up as the Irish's No. 1 back in 2024. Kenny Minchey QB 6-2 209 Did not attempt a pass as Notre Dame's third-string quarterback … In line to be the Irish's No. 3 again in 2024 if senior Riley Leonard stays healthy and junior Steve Angeli stays put. Ben Minich S 6-0 192 Appeared in three games, earning a redshirt … Could be a second-team safety for Notre Dame in 2024. Armel Mukam DL 6-3 290 Only appeared in the Wake Forest game, when he made a pair of tackles … Not participating in spring practices because of offseason shoulder surgery. Joe Otting OL 6-3 297 Never made an appearance in 2023 but could be Notre Dame's backup center behind Ashton Craig in 2024. Sam Pendleton OL 6-4 307 Saw action in two games … Is on his way to being one of the next in line at offensive guard. Adon Shuler S 6-0 198 Played in five games and finished with 6 total tackles … Repping as a starter alongside Xavier Watts in 2024 spring practices. KK Smith WR 6-0 170 Missed the season recovering from shoulder surgery … Started practicing with the team just before the Sun Bowl. Chris Terek OL 6-5 331 Did not appear in any games … Goes into 2024 as the heaviest Notre Dame offensive lineman on the spring roster. Boubacar Traore DL 6-4 240 Graded as Notre Dame's top pass rusher with a Pro Football Focus score of 90.9, albeit in just 12 pass-rush snaps. Brenan Vernon DL 6-5 272 Registered 9 defensive snaps in two appearances … Goes into 2024 buried on the depth chart at a deep defensive tackle position. Preston Zinter LB 6-2 229 Played in four games, just earning a redshirt … On the verge of cracking the linebacker rotation. Sophomore Class Review Jordan Faison was a top-five receiver in every major category for Notre Dame in 2023 despite playing in just seven games. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER