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To me it's shocking how far Sam Brunelle has fallen since she scored more than 50 points in a high school game. She came to ND with such promise. Yesterday she had no points and no rebounds playing only 11 minutes in Virginia's tournament loss.

Go follow our Instagram if you have an account over there. Photos from Jeff Douglas.

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We will be speaking with head coach Marcus Freeman shortly, but I'll share some quick notes while we wait.

UPDATE: Full observations are in posts below.

Notre Dame's starting offensive line was the same it used in the Sun Bowl: LT Charles Jagusah, LG Pat Coogan, C Ashton Craig, RG Billy Schrauth and RT Tosh Baker.

Rocco Spindler took reps at the No. 2 RG.

A position change for Devyn Ford: he's moved over to safety from his running back role.

WR/lacrosse player Jordan Faison was at practice but didn't participate.

Also sitting out: TE Mitchell Evans, TE Kevin Bauman, DE Aiden Gobaira, DT Armel Mukam and DE Loghan Thomas.

TE Eli Raridon was dressed but didn't take many competitive reps.

Special teams coordinator Marty Biagi assisted Mike Mickens in individual drills for defensive backs.

I thought the wide receiver group looked physically impressive even if that didn't lead to a ton of success.

ND lined up with these WR spots

Field: Kris Mitchell, KK Smith, Cam Williams
Slot: Jaden Greathouse, Jayden Harrison
Boundary: Jayden Thomas, Deion Colzie and Micah Gilbert.

Beaux Collins, the Clemson WR transfer who is finishing his courses to graduate this spring, can't practice, but he was still there following the WR group around.

@Eric Hansen and I will record our next Inside ND Sports podcast Friday morning, so we'll have seen Thursday's first spring practice. Send us some questions you'd like us to discuss. We like to give priority to questions submitted on The Insider Lounge.

If you have multiple questions, try to be succinct and ask them separately. Thanks!

I think the one-handed interception wasn't completed in bounds, but it was impressive regardless.

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Notre Dame 2025 defensive end target Damien Shanklin confirmed to Inside ND Sports on Thursday he plans to take his official visit to ND from June 7-9.

Minutes before confirming those plans, Shanklin reported an offer from Ohio State. The Buckeyes are expected to be a serious contender in his recruitment moving forward along with Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. Georgia also recently offered as well.

Shanklin, a four-star recruit, has visited Notre Dame four total times in his recruitment. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound defender out of Indianapolis Warren Central also plans to visit campus April 20 for the Blue-Gold Game.

Per Rivals, Shanklin is the No. 208 overall player and No. 9 weakside defensive end in the 2025 recruiting class.

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Notre Dame football added Chad Bowden as defensive recruiting coordinator and Dre Brown as offensive recruiting coordinator in 2021.

The two have continued to rise in the program with Bowden as assistant athletic director for player personnel and Brown as director of recruiting.

Players featured include quarterback Steve Angeli, quarterback Riley Leonard, quarterback CJ Carr, running back Jadarian Price, running back Aneyas Williams, wide receiver Kris Mitchell, wide receiver Micah Gilbert, tight end Jack Larsen, defensive end RJ Oben, defensive end Bryce Young, linebacker Jaiden Aubserry, cornerback Jordan Clark, safety Xavier Watts, safety Adon Shuler and more.

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Inside ND Sports has confirmed two dates in April with a couple of prospects in the 2026 recruiting class that have early interest in Notre Dame.

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2026 linebacker prospect Colsen Gatten plans to visit campus on April 6.

Gatten, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound inside linebacker, is not yet ranked or rated by Rivals but has eight offers including Michigan State, Nebraska, Penn State and Tennessee.

The Pittsburgh Central Catholic defender visited Notre Dame for the Pitt game last October.

“I loved everything about the visit,” Gatten said. “The thing that stood out most was the individual time [head] coach [Marcus] Freeman and [defensive coordinator] coach [Al] Golden gave to me while speaking to myself and parents. That was cool … especially on game day."

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We also confirmed on Thursday that 2026 offensive tackle prospect Darius Gray is scheduled to check out the Irish on April 10.

Gray, a Rivals100 member, is the No. 97 overall player in the 2026 class. He stands 6-5, 285-pounds and attends Richmond (Va.) St. Christopher’s.

He’s up to 20 offers including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Offensive line coach Joe Rudolph also recruited Gray during his time at Virginia Tech.

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We are keeping tabs on all expected visitors this spring and summer on the running visitors list thread.

Right here:

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Inside ND Sports has confirmed that Notre Dame 2025 running back target James Simon is down to seven schools as of Thursday.

Simon, a four-star recruit out of Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist Academy, has cut his list to Notre Dame, LSU, Texas, Alabama, Miami (Fla.), Texas A&M and Louisiana Tech. Simon reported over 20 total offers in the recruitment process.

The 6-foot-0, 200-pound Simon visited Notre Dame for the USC game last October and has been the final target for Deland McCullough in the 2025 recruiting class for the third running back commitment after Justin Thurman and Daniel Anderson.

Simon, the No. 21 running back in the 2025 class per Rivals, is listed as Mild on The Heat Index. There are two Rivals FutureCast predictions for LSU. He has visited the Tigers six times in his recruitment.



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Just 11 practices into Notre Dame's preseason camp last year, then-safeties coach Chris O'Leary called walk-on safety Luke Talich a freak.

Now Talich is a scholarship player for the Irish.

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Notre Dame 2025 four-star wide receiver target Talyn Taylor plans to see the Irish on April 6. He was last on campus for junior day in January.

Ohio State, Georgia and Michigan are other programs expected to receive visits from Taylor, the No. 31 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class, this spring

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Notre Dame women's basketball signee Kate Koval was named a Naismith Trophy Second Team All-American. Apparently, a center wasn't need on the first team.

Here's the full list:

Head coach Marcus Freeman is expected to hold a press conference on Thursday at 10 a.m. EST following Notre Dame football’s first spring practice earlier this morning.

Inside ND Sports is in attendance and will have coverage from the press conference and practice throughout the day. I'll post live updates below in this thread.

You can also watch on YouTube here:

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As spring practice gets underway this morning, I ask the biggest question for each position group that can be answered between now and the Blue-Gold Game.

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Inside ND Sports has confirmed Notre Dame 2025 wide receiver target Koby Howard has set a commitment date for March 31.

Howard also announced he is down to a top eight of Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Ole Miss, Miami (Fla.), LSU, Tennessee and Missouri.

The 6-foot-1, 174-pound Howard last visited Notre Dame for the USC game in October. He attends Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna.

Per Rivals, Howard is the No. 24 wide receiver and No. 138 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.

Howard is unlikely to commit to Notre Dame and is listed as Mild on The Heat Index.

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A couple of 2025 wide receiver targets are planning to be on Notre Dame's campus on the same day in April.

Four-star recruits Koby Howard and Tanook Hines have scheduled visits to Notre Dame for April.

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Howard, the No. 24 WR in the 2025 class, has been a long-time Notre Dame target. He last visited for the USC game last season. The Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade Madonna product also has unofficial visits scheduled to Florida (March 8), Miami (March 16), Tennessee (March 23) and Florida State (March 28).

Hines, the No. 54 WR in the 2025 class, received a Notre Dame offer shortly after new wide receivers coach Mike Brown was hired in December. The Houston Dekaney product plans to be at Oklahoma this weekend and wants to visit Texas and Alabama before he gets up to Notre Dame.

Inside ND Sports gives a rundown on which recruits are expected on campus to watch the Irish in their first spring practice on Thursday.