Dating back to the days of Brian Kelly — and continuing under Marcus Freeman — one thing has been certain regarding Notre Dame’s offensive philosophy, and that is for the Irish to succeed via the ground game.
Whilst this gameplan has routinely worked overall — the Irish have won at least 10 games in seven of the past eight seasons — it’s fair to say that the one dimensional ground-and-pound approach has often come up short in the biggest of games.
So, what’s been missing from the offense? What’s the link that’ll — hopefully for Irish fans — unlock elite opposition time and again? Whelp, that’d be a dominant receiving corps. As everyone witnessed in the National Championship game, the Buckeyes vertical prowess was paramount to Ohio State’s success.
Now this season ahead, Notre Dame may finally have a receiver room that can hang with the big boys across the nation — teams such as Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, etc. In possessing said unit, the Fighting Irish could be primed to claim its first national title since Lou Holtz led thy gold and blue to the crowing achievement in 1988.
Productive & Experienced Upperclassmen
Relatively quietly, Coach Free has assembled a unit of wideouts that is ready to flourish on the big stage. It’s a group that’s well balanced with experience — notably, senior transfers Malachi Fields and Will Pauling lead the list, followed by juniors Jaden Greathouse and Jordon Faison.
Five full seasons have come and gone since Notre Dame has produced a 1,000 yard receiver — Chase Claypool eclipsed the threshold in 2018 and 2019. In addition, one has to go all the way back to the good ol’ days of the Charlie Weis era to find a season in which the Irish produced multiple 1,000 yard receivers in a given season — in 2005, both Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight surpassed the 1,000 yard barrier.
This upcoming season, I foresee these receiving drought figure(s) coming to an end. Between Fields and Pauling — two players that have attained at least 800 yards receiving in a season before — accompanied by a budding star in Greathouse, Notre Dame’s offense is primed to produce at least one 1,000 yard receiver. In addition, the Irish will have a fighting chance at two wideouts reaching the coveted mark.
Dynamic Underclassmen
To complement the veterans at the position out wide, Marcus Freeman has procured a superb mixture of talented freshman and sophomores — Elijah Burress, Jerome Bettis Jr., Scrap Richardson, Cam Williams, and Micah Gilbert.
For starters, Burress and Bettis Jr. are not only talented players, but they’re also legacy student-athletes (players whose fathers were college/professional footballers). As such, these young men likely have an understanding about the sport of football that’s well-beyond their years.
Next up is speed, which is an attribute that Scrap Richardson possesses in abundance. The Georgia-native is a former track star — Richardson won the Georgia A-Division II 100-meter and 200-meter dashes whilst at Greenville High School.
Then there’s Williams and Gilbert whom bring the height and physicality. Both players stand at 6’2”, meaning that they possess a catch radius that CJ Carr will absolutely love when throwing the ball their way — especially in the red zone.
Speaking of CJ Carr
Finally, with any elite receiving group, there is a talented quarterback to accompany it. For Notre Dame, it’ll be no different. The Irish will have CJ Carr — a caliber of quarterback that hasn’t been seen in South Bend for quite some time.
The former blue chip recruit out of U of M’s own backyard in Saline, Michigan and the grandson to the legendary Lloyd Carr has all the physical and mental tools to succeed at the highest level of collegiate football, and beyond.
This young man is so special that at one point during Carr’s recruitment the Notre Dame brass tried — however ultimately failing — to persuade Carr into forgoing his senior year of high school in order to enroll a year sooner in South Bend.
Needless to say, with this crop of players, the 2025 campaign is shaping up to being a banner year for the Golden Domers — particularly through the air.
Watch: Notre Dame @ Miami (FL) | Sunday, August 31 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC