Tag: Notre Dame football

Notre Dame football gets a crystal ball pick for 2026 quarterback

The Irish are looking good with one of the nations top 2026 quarterbacks

The influx of talent at quarterback for Notre Dame football has seen an uptick since Marcus Freeman took over the program.

They have come from all over, recruiting and the transfer portal, with the next one up being 2025 commit Deuce Knight. It looks like they have another top quarterbacks attention in the 2026 cycle, with Florida’s [autotag]Noah Grubbs[/autotag].

The 6-foot, 4-inch and 188-pound signal caller was crystal balled to eventually commit to Notre Dame by Tom Loy on Friday. Grubbs is one of the top prospects in the country, ranking as the No. 121 overall player and 10th quarterback of his class by the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

Grubbs would be a huge recruiting win for the Irish, as they try and continue to stack talent at quarterback.

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Buffalo Bills Sign Chase Claypool in NFL Free Agency

Chase Claypool gets another NFL deal. Is this his last chance?

The NFL draft has come and gone and a small wave of free agency across the league has picked up again.

Friday morning saw the Buffalo Bills announce a few signings, including a one-year deal with wide receiver Chase Claypool.

After starring at Notre Dame, Claypool made an instant splash as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In 16 games in 2020, Claypool hauled in 873-receiving yards while scoring 11 touchdowns.  He seemed like a star in the making but by his third year the wheels started to come off.

Claypool was dealt to the Chicago Bears early in the 2022 season where he hauled in 191 receiving yards in 10 games split over two years.  The Bears dealt him to the Miami Dolphins where he played in nine games last year, catching just four passes.

In signing with Buffalo, Claypool may be on his last chance in the NFL.

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Notre Dame football offers 2026 Ohio athlete

The Irish are working on Storm

One of the benefits that Notre Dame football has with its 2025 class is that its virtually full and they can start looking ahead to the next class.

With just one current commit, wide receiver Dylan Faison, the Irish coaching staff is scouring the 2026 class for player who deserve an offer. One of those players turned out to be Ohio athlete [autotag]Storm Miller[/autotag], who got his Notre Dame offer on Monday.

Miller is an intriguing prospect, as he can play multiple positions but will most likely end up as a linebacker with his 6-foot, 3-inch and 220-pound frame. 247Sports Composite Rankings has him as the nations No. 15 at the prospect and 204th nationally.

The offer list isn’t overtly impressive at the moment, but it’s still very early in the cycle. Expect other big teams to follow Notre Dame’s lead in offering Miller.

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Notre Dame football adds a running back via the transfer portal

The Irish add a back for depth through the portal

Although it may seem like Notre Dame football is set with its running back rotation, they still added a player through the transfer portal on Tuesday.

Former Central Michigan back [autotag]Jake Tafelski[/autotag] committed to the Irish, giving the room more experienced depth. The stats surely won’t stand out as he has just seven carries in his career for 21 yards.

Tafelski most likely will be third or fourth on the depth chart behind Jeremiyah Love, Gi’Bran Payne and Jadarian Price. None of the returning backs have logged more than 400 yards, so the group is very green, but has tons of talent.

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One fascinating fact shows the respect USC has for Notre Dame

A Fighting Irish Wire writer revealed something you might not have known about USC football’s home stadium.

The USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish have one of the most storied and celebrated rivalries in the history of college football. This is the most famous intersectional rivalry in the United States, unlike the traditional conference rivalries which belong to one pocket of the country. USC versus Notre Dame is ferocious, but it also has a lot of respect. Keep in mind that the two men who formed the rivalry in the 1920s, USC coach Howard Jones and Notre Dame icon Knute Rockne, liked each other. There was a lot of mutual admiration between the two men, which has led to a century of mutual respect between the two schools.

Just how much respect does USC have for Notre Dame? You might be surprised by this next fact: USC has plaques of Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy, Notre Dame’s two greatest football coaches, prominently displayed at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Fighting Irish Wire staff writer Geoffrey Clark snapped the photos of the Rockne and Leahy plaques on a tour of the Coliseum with his wife. It’s a great gallery with some images you might never have seen before!

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Commanders add former Ohio State edge rusher

Commanders add former Ohio State edge rusher #GoBucks

With the 222nd selection in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Washington Commanders select Javontae Jean-Baptiste, edge rusher from Notre Dame. when they announce the school, Jean-Baptiste is from they will say Notre Dame, but Ohio State fans have plenty of fond memories of the defensive end as well.

Jean-Baptiste was a former four-star recruit from the state of New Jersey and was very solid throughout his Ohio State career and was a consistent and reliable contributor for a majority of his five seasons in Columbus before he elected to transfer to South Bend.

Being a seventh-round selection, expectations are extremely low for Jean-Baptiste, but he has the skill set to contribute at the next level. Once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye and we wish Jean-Baptiste good luck!

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Former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman given one of the highest guarantees among non-drafted players

Not bad first gig out of college for Hartman

Although former Notre Dame football quarterback [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] did not hear his name called during the NFL draft, he did sign a contract with the Washington Commanders.

The agreement turned out to be one of the largest given out to undrafted free agents as the NFL Rumors social media page reports. Hartman will get a $20,000 signing bonus and a base salary of $225,000.

Not too bad for his first job out of college, but there is still work to be done. Hartman is going to a good place to have a legit chance at making a roster spot, as the Commanders don’t have much depth at the position.

Hartman will need to show them during the next few months that he is worth staying around in Washington.

See it – Sam Hartman Photo Gallery at Notre Dame

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Commanders sign Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman

The Commanders are bringing in former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman.

The Commanders, still looking for players to fill their 90-man roster, have signed Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman.

Consequently, Hartman went undrafted in the 2024 NFL draft, which concluded a few hours ago. Now, NFL teams are signing the players they would like to bring into their off-season program.

The signing of Hartman brings the Commanders’ quarterback room to five: Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Jeff Driskel, Jake Fromm, and Hartman.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 208 pounds, Hartman committed to and signed with Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference. As a freshman, Hartman saw action in nine games, completing 161 of 291 passes (55.3) for 1,984 yards, 16 touchdowns and 8 interceptions, and a 125.2 passer rating.

After playing only four games in the 2019 season, Hartman completed 58.2 percent of his passes for 2,224 yards in 2020 with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions for a 138.7 passer rating.

Hartman enjoyed largely productive seasons in 2021 and 2022, when he passed for 39 and 38 touchdowns with 14 and 12 interceptions, respectively. He also had his highest passer rating numbers of 148.6 and then 159.4.

Due to Covid altering the 2020 NCAA Football season, Hartman having one more year of eligibility, determined to transfer to Notre Dame. For the Fighting Irish, Hartman completed 63.5 percent of his 301 passes for 2,689 yards, 24 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 159.5 passer rating.

Born in Charlotte, NC, he will turn 25 in July. He played his High School ball at Oceanside Collegiate in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, and became a three-star college quarterback recruit.

 

Commanders select Notre Dame edge Javontae Jean-Baptiste at No. 222 overall

The Commanders finish off their 2024 draft by choosing Notre Dame edge Javontae Jean-Baptiste.

The 2024 NFL draft is in the books for the Washington Commanders. With their final pick — No. 222 overall in the seventh round — the Commanders selected Notre Dame edge rusher Javontae Jean-Baptiste.

Jean-Baptise began his career at Ohio State, where he played five seasons, appeared in 44 games and made six starts. He had eight sacks during his time with the Buckeyes. In his one year at Notre Dame, Jean-Baptiste recorded 49 tackles, including a team-high 10. 5 for loss and five sacks. He played in every game and made 12 starts for the Fighting Irish.

Jean-Baptiste has exciting measurables, standing 6-foot-5, weighing 239 pounds with 33 3/4″ arms. Jean-Baptiste ran the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds.

The Commanders hosted Jean-Baptiste on a top 30 visit.

Here is NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein’s scouting report on Jean-Baptiste:

After a five-year run at Ohio State with modest production, Jean-Baptiste’s Notre Dame tape has put him in position to become a developmental Day 3 draft pick. He has good length but lacks play strength to stack and discard tackles. He’ll need to hit the weights to improve his anchor, but he has the footwork and agility to slide off of block sustain and make tackles. He’s a step slow off the snap, dulling his ability to outrace tackles to the edge, but he flashes the hands and hips to become a more impactful rusher if teams rewire his rush plan. There is still a level of upside available for Jean-Baptiste.

Watch: Joe Alt meets his new head coach, Jim Harbaugh

The All-American is already in Cali

It was a memorable Thursday evening for former Notre Dame All-American offensive tackle [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag], who was selected fifth in the NFL draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Irish tackle watched the draft in the comfort of his own chosen place, but he quickly had to get on a flight to California. It’s extremely typical for NFL teams to fly in their first-round picks to meet staff and the media the next day.

Check out the video below as Alt meets his new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, as he made his first visit to his new facilities on Friday afternoon.

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