One of the top freshmen in the history of college football Jeremiah Smith helped put the finishing touches on a convincing Ohio State win over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship to finish off the 2024 season. Both teams were able to benefit tremendously from the new 12-team format, but in the end, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes prevailed.
While other teams have been able to focus on the transfer portal and building out their roster for the 2025 season, Notre Dame will now have the chance to shift their entire focus there and build off their already six incoming transfers for this class. Virginia Cavaliers wide receiver headlines their class following his 808-yard and five-touchdown season, but who will be seeing their way out of South Bend as they move on in their career?
Starting at the top, quarterback Riley Leonard will have the chance to pursue a career in the NFL following an impressive 38 touchdowns accounted for in his senior season. As for other key players set to graduate and or potentially move on to the NFL, they include Xavier Watts, Benjamin Morrison, Mitchell Evans, Beaux Collins, Howard Cross, Rylie Mills, and more.
On top of the players exiting, a recent report from Ian Rapoport indicates that defensive coordinator Al Golden could be on the move to Cincinnati to fill the Bengals' void at the same position. It would be a return to Cincinnati for Golden, who last served as a team’s linebackers coach.
Luckily for Notre Dame, they will get an influx of talent from their top-10 2024 recruiting class headlined by five-star defensive lineman Bryce Young from North Carolina.
Additionally, they’ll return their top running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, as Love will enter 2025 as one of the top running backs in the country and could be a dark horse contender for the Heisman Trophy.
Regardless of how Notre Dame rounds out their roster for next season, it will all begin on the road when they travel to face the Miami Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium in a likely ranked matchup.