After signing 21 incoming freshmen last week, Irish coach Brian Kelly quickly indicated the Notre Dame roster may not yet be done growing. In a radio interview on Weekday Sportsbeat, Kelly spoke of a possible transfer to Notre Dame, likely a graduated senior taking advantage of the NCAA’s stance on graduate student’s having immediate eligibility.
“We’ve put a scholarship aside,” Kelly said. “We think we’re in a very good position with one right now that we’ll be able to close on within the next couple of weeks.”
Before rampant speculation about just who that may be gains too much steam, it is prudent to consider where such a player may have an imminent impact. A look at the Irish roster as currently constructed—categorized by both class and position—may indeed help narrow that speculation. Hence, the below. First, some notes regarding the below:
- All classes are listed as they will be next season. For example, quarterback Brandon Wimbush is currently a sophomore at Notre Dame, but below lists Wimbush as a junior since that will be his standing come fall.
- Today’s best guesses at starters are listed in italics.
- Asterisks next to seniors names indicate that player will have a fifth-year of eligibility after this season. The chart only notes seniors with that possibility, rather than marking all players who have preserved a year to-date. Predicting such for years in the future often bears little-to-no resemblance to what reality transpires once injuries and other events are factored in down the road.
| Position | 5th-Yr | Senior | Junior | Sophomore | Freshman |
| QB | M. VanGorder | B. Wimbush | I. Book | A. Davis | |
| RB | J. Adams | T. Jones | C.J. Holmes | ||
| D. Williams | |||||
| Receiver | E. St. Brown | K. Stepherson | J. Armstrong | ||
| C. Finke | J. McKinley | M. Young | |||
| C.J. Sanders | C. Claypool | ||||
| M. Boykin | D. McIntosh | ||||
| Tight End | D. Smythe | N. Weishar* | A. Jones | B. Wright | |
| T. Luatua | C. Kmet |
Bringing in two of the top-three tight ends in the class of 2017 presents an interesting quandary of, will one red-shirt this season? Four upperclassmen at the position only increases the likelihood of such. Since Brock Wright enrolled early and will thus take part in all of spring practice, he is the more likely of the two to see the field in 2017, though do not be surprised if Cole Kmet’s talent forces new Irish offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Chip Long to deploy him, as well.
| Position | 5th-Yr | Senior | Junior | Sophomore | Freshman |
| Tackle | M. McGlinchey | A. Bars* | L. Eichenberg | A. Banks | |
| T. Kraemer | J. Lugg | ||||
| Guard | H. Bivin | Q. Nelson* | T. Hoge | P. Boudreaux | R. Hainsey |
| J. Byrne* | T. Ruhland | D. Gibbons | |||
| Center | S. Mustipher* |
Spring practice will provide a better handle on offensive line coach Harry Hiestand’s latest alignment. The biggest question is not who will start, but where will the back-ups cross-train. Hiestand has often relied on only three or four actual second-stringers, believing a player or two was his best secondary option at multiple positions. Barring a rash of injuries—and the offensive line is perhaps the only position group to avoid that epidemic in recent years—this strategy holds up just fine.
| Position | 5th-Yr | Senior | Junior | Sophomore | Freshman |
| Def. End | A. Trumbetti | D. Hayes | K. Wardlow | ||
| J. Bonner* | J. Okwara | MacCollister | |||
| J. Hayes* | A. Ogundeji | ||||
| K. Kareem | |||||
| Def. Tackle | D. Cage | J. Tillery | K. Hinish | ||
| P. Mokwuah * | E. Taylor | Tagovailoa-Amosa | |||
| M. Dew-Treadway | D. Ewell | ||||
| B. Tiassum | |||||
| “Rover” | D. Tranquill* | A. Bilal | J. Owusu-Koromoah | ||
Simply learning who new Irish defensive coordinator Mike Elko trots out at his “rover” position (a safety-linebacker hybrid of sorts) will tell us the most about this spot’s role and future. He has also mentioned senior linebacker Greer Martini as a possibility there, but the need at linebacker may be too great to give Elko a genuine chance to try Martini at the rover.
| Position | 5th-Yr | Senior | Junior | Sophomore | Freshman |
| LB | N. Morgan | T. Coney | Jo. Jones | D. Adams | |
| G. Martini | J. Barajas | Ja. Jones | D. White | ||
| Corner | N. Watkins* | S. Crawford | J. Love | ||
| A. White | T. Pride | ||||
| S. Perry | |||||
| D. Vaughn | |||||
| Safety | N. Coleman | D. Studstill | I. Robertson | ||
| N. Fertitta | J. Elliott | J. Genmark-Heath | |||
| D.J. Morgan | |||||
| PK | J. Yoon | ||||
| Kickoff | J. Doerer | ||||
| Punter | T. Newsome* | ||||
| LS | J. Shannon |