As Notre Dame inches closer to its kickoff against Navy in Dublin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, targets on the Irish recruiting board are set to compete on Friday night.

Inside ND Sports zeroed in on three defensive targets in the 2025 recruiting class and evaluated where they stand entering Friday's slate of games.

Recruits highlighted include:

2025 DE target Joseph Reiff

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The Irish sent out a graphic to Reiff this week.

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2025 DE target Matthew Johnson

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2025 LB target Christian Jones

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Link to full story:

@Eric Hansen and I make prop bets and predictions ahead of Saturday's season opener between No. 13 Notre Dame and Navy in Dublin, Ireland.

Submit your prop bet predictions all season long for a chance at a year-long subscription for free. Voting for ND-Navy is open here.

On this week's list:

• Over/Under 268.5 passing yards for ND QB Sam Hartman
• Who will lead the Irish in receptions against Navy?
• Over/Under 224.5 rushing yards for Navy
• Who will score the first touchdown for ND?
• Over/Under 8.5 tackles for ND LB JD Bertrand

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No prayers from Kansas City if not.

Wetzel is a national sports columnist for Yahoo Sports, an occasional contributor to the Inside ND Sports podcast and one of the best in our business in my opinion.

Looks like momentum is building and perhaps a decision soon ...

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I think we're nearing the end of Watch List mania. I hope, but these two are worthy.

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Also items on Eli Raridon's status, Chris Tyree's necessary number change, Freeman's in-fight viewing, ND's home-field advantage, and growing the game in Europe

Marcus Freeman says Notre Dame center Zeke Correll practiced this week and he's expected to play.

@Jon McNamara and BadgerBlitz took a closer look at the the top players in Wisconsin for the 2025 recruiting class and where they plan to visit for games this season.

Notre Dame targets mentioned:

2025 four-star OT Owen Strebig

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2025 four-star TE James Flanigan

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Link to full story;

Buchner accomplished nothing and is pretty much worse off….amazing.

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Looks like Notre Dame has sent out fresh recruiting graphics to its 2024 commits with a special theme focused on Week O against Navy.

Starting with 2024 QB commit CJ Carr.

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I followed Eric Hansen for years at the South Bend Tribune and he shines brightest on in depth stories, like the one he wrote on Sam Hartman. Hansen has the writer's ability to get the subject to open up during a conversation. I found out more about Hartman from this article than anything else combined. Really good reading

Thanks to all who submitted questions for me and @Eric Hansen on our latest podcast. These are the questions we answered with timestamps.

25:27 • @Hond: How worried are you about the playcalling on offense headed into the season and will this team be able to make important adjustments at halftime?

28:51 • Marie Biafore - @biafore_marie: What worries you the most about this Navy team? Most people feel Notre Dame should win this game fairly easily, if the game ends up being much closer than anticipated what do you think the reasons would be for that outcome?

31:35 • Robert Halicky - @bhalicky5859: Good morning guys! Today is my birthday and my sons first day of kindergarten. Tears everywhere. My question, what will bring you to tears, good or bad, if it happens in the Navy game?

35:33 • frank serra - @frankse44617564: How many yards rushing do you think ND will have against navy?

37:38 • Cill Chainnigh - @KilkennyTek: Has the offensive line been going full contact, full speed in practice? I keep hearing how great the D looks. Last time this happened it was because our O-line was NOT going full speed.

40:14 • @CharlesWWolfe: I know the team has to go out and earn each win, but is there something you’re looking for (some secret ingredient) in these first 3 weeks that would convince you that ND is better-positioned to challenge Ohio State?

43:09 • @irishdanny777: Sam Hartman is a talented qb that has every Irish fan is gitty, But should an injury happen to Sam, are Irish in a better, the same, or worse position then they were last year?☘️☘️☘️

46:13 • @csryan: I have been very impressed with Freeman’s commitment to special teams, which was a drastic improvement over his predecessor. In year two, what are the realistic expectations for the individual ST units?

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NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH FACE NAVY IN 2023 SEASON OPENER FROM IRELAND THIS SATURDAY AT 2:30 P.M. ET ON NBC AND PEACOCK​

STAMFORD, Conn. – Aug. 23, 2023 – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the Navy Midshipmen as they kick off the 2023 season this Saturday, Aug. 26, in the college football season opener at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. The matchup marks the third edition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
Saturday marks the third time the Fighting Irish and the Midshipmen have played in Dublin and will be the 96th meeting all-time between the two programs. Notre Dame leads the series, 81-13-1, and is on a five-game winning streak dating back to 2017.
The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll. In Marcus Freeman’s first full season as head coach last year, they finished No. 21 in the final College Football Playoff poll with a 9-4 record and notable wins against No. 4 Clemson, No. 16 Syracuse, and No. 19 South Carolina in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Midshipmen went 4-8 last season, highlighted by a win against No. 20 UCF.
This will be the Fighting Irish’s first game with new quarterback and Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman, who is the ACC’s all-time leader in touchdown passes. Notre Dame returns one 2022 AP All-American, offensive tackle Joe Alt.
NBC Sports’ Noah Eagle (play-by-play) and Jason Garrett (analyst) will call the game along with Zora Stephenson (sideline reporter) and Terry McAulay (rules analyst). Eagle is replacing Jac Collinsworth, who is under the weather and unable to travel. Collinsworth plans to be back next week when the Fighting Irish host Tennessee State on Saturday, Sept. 2.
NBC Sports’ College Countdown studio team of Maria Taylor, Michael Robinson, Joshua Perry, Matt Cassel, and Nicole Auerbach will host pregame and halftime coverage from NBC Sports’ Studio 1 in Stamford, Conn. This will be the first time that this studio team will work together. Click here for more information about the team.
The Dan Patrick Show, NBC Sports’ daily national sports talk program that streams on Peacock, will be live from Dublin starting today, Wednesday, Aug. 23 through Friday, Aug. 25 from 9 a.m. ET to noon ET. Select guests that will appear during the week include comedian and actor Will Ferrell and Jason Garrett, while Patrick himself is expected to be interviewed during Saturday’s game.
The ND on NBC Podcast, hosted by former Notre Dame wide receiver Corey Robinson, returns this week and will release weekly episodes/additional content throughout the season. Episodes can be listened to here and wherever you listen to podcasts.
Throughout the 2023 season, Peacock will simulstream all Notre Dame games aired live on NBC, including pre- and postgame coverage as well as exclusively present a matchup for the third consecutive season when the Fighting Irish host Central Michigan on Sat., Sept. 16, at 2:30 p.m. ET.
NBC SPORTS ATHLETE DIRECT – NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL FAN CLUB
This Friday, Aug. 25, NBC Sports Athlete Direct – a community linking college student-athletes and advertisers through a trusted platform, enabling student-athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness – will launch a subscription-based student-athlete Fan Club with the Notre Dame Football team. Student-athletes will share in the revenue of all membership sales.
The Fan Club, which gives Fighting Irish fans unprecedented access to their favorite student-athletes and enables fans to support them for a season-long price of $29.99, features exclusive content and perks such as:

• Exclusive players-only podcast
• Virtual meet and greet with student-athletes
• NBC Sports game notes
• Exclusive weekly content from NBC Sports

Peacock has previously provided exclusive live coverage of the Notre Dame Football Blue-Gold game, Notre Dame Pro Day and Notre Dame hockey. Peacock’s expansive programming offers the most live sports of any SVOD service in the United States, featuring live coverage including Sunday Night Football, Olympic Games, Premier League, Notre Dame Football, NASCAR, NTT IndyCar Series, Big Ten football (beginning in September), and much more. Peacock also offers daily sports programming on the NBC Sports channel.
This year, NBC Sports and Notre Dame kick off their 33rd season. NBC Sports and the University of Notre Dame began their landmark Notre Dame Football relationship in 1991 and have renewed the partnership numerous times. The current agreement runs through the 2025 season.

Julian Lewis, who may be the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 class, announced a commitment to USC this morning.

Notre Dame was one of the 30-plus schools to offer the Carrollton (Ga.) quarterback.

What I wrote when Lewis was offered:

Lewis was named 2022 MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year after leading Carrollton to a state runner-up finish last year. Lewis was prolific in completing 283 of his 432 passes (65.5%) for 4,118 yards and 48 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. In five playoff games, the freshman threw for 1,519 yards and 14 touchdowns and four interceptions.


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Here's everything Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden had to say following Tuesday Irish football practice. Both coordinators had a meeting they had to run to, so this is brief. There's still some substance here, and worth posting, but usually we can get a little more depth and detail.

AL GOLDEN
Aug. 22, 2023

Was the depth-building intentional in camp? You knew you had depth at linebacker, but did you know you could get that many guys ready at so many positions? Did you see that at the beginning of camp, or was that something that evolved?

“I think the guys have done a great job. It starts in the spring with the installation. And then during the summer, they have to do a lot on their own. And the younger guys in the group that you mentioned really did a great job of learning.

“A lot of young guys have the ability, and certainly have the talent level. It’s just getting them to the point where they can function without thinking. And I think a lot of those guys that are in the mix have done a great job. And then you have a lot of veterans who have been in it. It’s Wednesday. We've got a long way to go ‘til game day, but it’s exciting and we’re fired up to play this game.”

Given the background of the Navy offensive coordinator, Grant Chesnut, at Kennesaw State and then having the option layered on top of that, does it feel a little bit like a blind date?

“Yeah, you’ve basically got three influences on offense, and so it’s definitely made us simplify. We’re going to have to keep it simple and be able to adapt on game day. But that’s game 1. It’s just magnified a little more this year, because it’s already a different offense than you’re used to seeing. Now you compound that with not knowing the percentage of each system, or each concept, how much it contributes to the whole. So, we’ll see how it unfolds on game day.”

Does it affect things not knowing who Navy might play at quarterback first or play two quarterbacks?

“Yeah, I think obviously they can both run the system, which is great. But then they both have their own personal characteristics, which we need to be attuned to and see if we can get a bead on which way they go on game day.”

The defensive line was impressive in some of the media-open practices and periods, and even Marcus Freeman commented Monday that he has been pleasantly surprised with that group. How real do you feel their progress was in training camp?

“It’s like one of those questions I wish you had asked me two weeks ago when I wasn’t available to you, because we’ve moved on. I think they did have a good camp. I think coach Wash’ does a great job with them. I think they love playing with each other. I think they love playing as a unit, as a group. They kind of feed off that. So, yeah, I think there is a together factor there that we’re going to need every ounce of as it relates to this game coming up, because this is the ultimate [test, where] you’re going to get challenged. And the next series it’s going to be something else, and the series after that It’s going to be something else. And we’re going to have to learn to improvise and adjust.”

On the depth chart there were some “ORs” in between some of the starters and backups at both safety positions. How do you see that group rotating or splitting playing time?

“There’s a lot of guys that are going to contribute there and have to contribute. We need them. I mean, safeties are valuable. They can play different spots on third down. Certainly, in this system, they can play different spots, so we’re going to need a whole bunch of safeties to contribute for us Saturday.”

It’s a one-off defensively when you’re going against a triple option …

“It is.”

… Is there something you’re looking for in guys that you’re going to be funneling in? I’m sure you’re going to play more guys throughout the year than the guys you’re going to funnel in, in this game?

“I think that’s fair. Experience is king here, right? So, if you’re experienced in the system, if there’s a tiebreaker, it’s going to be that between two guys. Experience is important, but I think at the same time, from our standpoint, just playing together. Just being a problem-solver on game day, being mature. Not worrying about — you know coach [Freeman] preaches one play, one life. It’s not worrying about what happened last play, and solve the next problem, because they just keep coming at you with a different scheme or a different nuance, and you’ve just got to keep evolving.”