Notre Dame football junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed discusses comfort level in his third spring at Notre Dame, communication within the linebacker group, the process of waiting for his opportunity, where he’s improved the most, facing Mike Denbrock's offense and more.

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I'll have a full story up this afternoon but a few notes ... The first "telescope" ankle surgery from January actually did its job. That ligament repair went well and continues to go well. What prompted the second surgery was that the plate inserted in Leonard's right ankle was starting to cause a stress fracture, so a new plate inserted in a new position has corrected that.

He said he's feeling great and is only wearing the Tayco brace "in case I step in a hole." He's also restricting some of his lateral movements this week, like not doing drills where he's required to roll out. He said he's cleared to start jogging next week. He's not clear on his recovery timeline, but he is anticipating being full cleared in two weeks, right after the Blue-Gold Game. He said if the BGG were a real game, he'd play.

He said the biggest thing he's missing out is forming chemistry and timing with the receivers. He said summer will be big for him and the team.

Again, I'll have much more in the story later today and will fill in all the gaps.

Notre Dame football took advantage of some nice weather Tuesday morning in South Bend and took its ninth spring practice outside.

But not everyone was a participant in Tuesday’s practice. Graduate transfer wide receiver Jayden Harrison was sidelined with a boot on his leg. And grad senior defensive tackles Rylie Mills and Howard Cross III missed practice again with a class conflict.

Quarterback Riley Leonard continues to be active while recovering from ankle surgery. He threw with Notre Dame’s quarterbacks in individual periods and was taking a slower pace through a drill that required handoff to a running back, catching a ball in the backfield and then throwing on the run.

The rest of the players sitting out practice were the usual: CB Benjamin Morrison, TEs Mitchell Evans and Kevin Bauman, DEs Aiden Gobaira and Loghan Thomas and DT Armel Mukam.

Wide receiver Jayden Thomas continued to be limited in the portion viewed by the media. It’s unclear if that’s being done out of precaution or if he’s been dealing with something recurring. Lacrosse player Jordan Faison remained an observer.

Tight end Eli Raridon was the most active his been in a padded practice that we’ve seen so far. I heard that he was pretty active in Saturday’s scrimmage as well. Running back Kedren Young, who has been dealing with a hamstring, worked through drills today.

The first two periods of practice were dedicated to tackling drills and punt coverage for special teams work. In the third period, the offense did a tempo run through with the full unit. Here's how they lined up.

First-team: Boundary WR Micah Gilbert, slot WR Jaden Greathouse, field WR Kris Mitchell, TE Cooper Flanagan, QB Steve Angeli, RB Jadarian Price, LT Charles Jagusah, LG Pat Coogan, C Ashton Craig, RG Billy Schrauth and RT Tosh Baker.

Second-team: Boundary WR Deion Colzie, slot WR KK Smith, field WR Cam Williams, TE Eli Raridon, QB Kenny Minchey, RB Jeremiyah Love, LT Sullivan Absher, LG Rocco Spindler, C Sam Pendleton, RG Chris Terek and RT Aamil Wagner.

Third-team: Slot WR Jack Polian, field WR Alex Whitman, TEs Jack Larsen and Henry Garrity, QB CJ Carr, RB Aneyas Williams, LT Styles Prescod, LG Peter Jones, C Joe Otting, RG Ty Chan and RT Anthonie Knapp.

Spindler at No. 2 left guard is the most interesting development. He was working there in double-team drills alongside Craig later in practice too. That makes me wonder if Schrauth has a firm grip on the right guard spot, so Coogan and Spindler are left duking it out on the other side.

In the fifth period, most of the defense was preparing for an inside run session. But we had to start leaving even before the period ended.
The first front without Mills and Cross consisted of DE RJ Oben, NT Donovan Hinish, DT Jason Onye and and VYP Jordan Bothelho. I didn’t get to see a full rotation, but I did see VYP Junior Tuihalamaka, DT Brenan Vernon and DE Boubacar Traore get some work.

The linebackers used were mike Drayk Bowen and will Jack Kiser followed by mike Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and will Jaylen Sneed.

Notre Dame football senior quarterback Riley Leonard updates status after injury this spring and speaks about his takeaways from the reps he gets in spring practice, developing chemistry with the team, how he's pushed through the last six months, building relationships within the team and more.

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Players featured include quarterback CJ Carr, quarterback Kenny Minchey, running back Jeremiyah Love, running back Aneyas Williams, wide receiver Kris Mitchell, wide receiver Micah Gilbert, offensive tackle Aamil Wagner, offensive tackle Tosh Baker, linebacker Jack Kiser, linebacker Jaylen Sneed, cornerback Christian Gray, cornerback Jaden Mickey, safety Adon Shuler and more.

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Notre Dame QB commit Deuce Knight's visit to Ole Miss made @Adam Gorney's latest story.


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I shared what I've been hearing here:

I'm about to head out with my fancy glasses. No, you will not get a picture of me wearing them.

Notre Dame had another busy week of recruiting visits last week, and I’ve been able to gather some additional intel beyond the interviews we did with multiple targets who were on campus. I’ll link to those stories in the next post of this thread for anyone who missed them.

I’m also working on an update of The Heat Index for later in the week as well.

Let’s focus on the targets in the 2025 class first.

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Four-star safety JaDon Blair had a “hell of a visit,” according to a source. That’s not terribly surprising given how Blair talked about the Irish before and after his trip. The belief is Notre Dame is back in serious contention with Penn State and may have even pushed ahead. As Blair noted in our interview, he’s considering moving his Notre Dame official visit to the weekend rather than midweek so he can be on campus with more ND recruits. The Irish still have some fighting left to do, but you couldn’t have asked for a much better result ahead of his official visit schedule.

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Four-star wide receiver Tanook Hines had a really good first visit with Notre Dame. And as @Charleston Bowles reported, he’s planning to get back on June 14-16 for an official visit. The Irish like the speed Hines offers, and he’s on the short list of receivers Notre Dame would find room for if his commitment pushed the WR class to five. There doesn’t seem to be a serious dragon to slay for Notre Dame to beat in Hines’ recruitment, but maybe Texas can become that if it decides to push hard. Hines has official visits set to Arizona State, USC, Arkansas and Baylor.

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Four-star wide receiver Talyn Taylor continues to be hard to get a good read on, which might just mean he’s not really that close to making a decision. While the recruiting momentum appears to be on Georgia’s side, there’s some growing concern that Ohio State may become a problem too as it sorts out its wide receiver priorities.

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Four-star linebacker Noah Mikhail is someone Notre Dame remains in a good spot for, but I wouldn’t consider the Irish frontrunners by any stretch yet. He may end up having a classic California recruitment that drags out deep into the cycle. USC is probably the favorite here still.

Here’s some information I’ve gathered on several of the 2026 targets with whom the Irish will continue to be in the mix.

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Four-star quarterback Brady Hart is someone Notre Dame wants badly. And there’s optimism that the Irish may be the leaders here following a great visit. Hart made visits down to Florida and Miami right after, so he should have a good idea of how those programs compare. Florida is his parents’ alma mater, so the Gators are going to make this a tough decision at the very least.

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Notre Dame plans to make four-star offensive guard Tyler Merrill and three-star offensive tackle Ben Nichols priorities in the class. The Irish have made good impressions with multiple visits to campus from both. Penn State is the top competition for Merrill; Michigan for Nichols.

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Though I’ve been very impressed with four-star wide receiver Devin Carter, there’s a sense that Notre Dame won’t be realistic contenders in the long run following his visit. We’ll see if that evolves for the elite student-athlete.

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Three-star defensive end Braeden Jones might be the first 2026 class FutureCast I make in favor of Notre Dame. Or at least be among the first. The two sides seem like a natural match following his visit as Notre Dame continues to make noise with defensive line recruits in the Chicago area.

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Three of the linebackers who visited should be monitored closely moving forward: Samu Moala, Kenneth Goodwin and Thomas Davis Jr.

Moala really impressed Notre Dame’s staff and probably belongs on the short list of FutureCasts candidates alongside Jones.

Goodwin’s visit was described as “fantastic.” He’s the kind of athlete the Irish have had success recruiting in recent cycles.

Davis Jr. might follow the path to Georgia that led his father to All-America status and a lengthy NFL career, but the Irish are giving him reason to seriously consider going elsewhere. Notre Dame’s doing what it can to show Davis Jr. why it’s the right for him.

Notre Dame quarterback commit Deuce Knight impressed Sunday at the Elite 11 regional camp in Oxford, Miss., and received an invitation to the Elite 11 Finals that will occur this summer in Los Angeles at a date still to be announced.

The national quarterback camp invited 20 finalists in each of the past two years. This year's camp will feature QBs in the 2025 class.

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Knight is the third straight Notre Dame quarterback commit to be invited to the Elite 11 Finals following CJ Carr in the 2024 class and Kenny Minchey in the 2023 class. Minchey was still committed to Pittsburgh at the time he competed.

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Wess Moore, who works in TV and radio in Little Rock, Ark., either has a massive scoop here or is going to look pretty silly soon.

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Notre Dame's men's lacrosse lived up to its No. 1 ranking Sunday with a 15-12 road victory at No. 3 Duke.

The Irish (7-1, 2-0 ACC) claimed their third victory over a top-three opponent this season to set a program record. Maryland and Syracuse were also ranked third when they lost to Notre Dame in March.

Notre Dame took an 8-4 lead over Duke in the second quarter, but needed to regain the lead in the fourth quarter after the Blue Devils tied the game at 11.

Notre Dame closed the game out with goals by Eric Dobson, Jake Taylor (two) and Chris Kavanagh in the final seven minutes. Goaltender Liam Entenmann allowed just one goal to Duke's Max Sloat with 1:03 remaining during that crucial stretch.

Brother Pat and Chris Kavanagh led the Irish attack with four goals apiece. Pat, a graduate senior, assisted on three other goals. All four of his goals came in the first half as the Irish built their lead. Chris assisted on one goal as well.

Taylor and Devon McLane, both grad seniors, put in two goals each. Both Pat Kavanagh and Entenmann were shaking up with apparent injuries in the fourth quarter but finished the game.

Entenmann's 14 saves put him in a tie with Joey Kemp (2005-08) for the most career saves in program history at 633. He assisted the Irish defense with a pair of caused turnovers.

Notre Dame will head back on the road next Sunday to take on No. 13 Cornell (7-3) at Long Island University's Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium (12:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN+).

BOX SCORE: Notre Dame 15, Duke 12

A story from The Athletic today revealed a group of people trying to create a "Super League" for college football.
The story is behind The Athletic's paywall, but here's some of what their own writers have put out publicly to highlight the details.

From Stewart Mandel: A group of sports execs and college presidents is proposing a football “Super League” of 80 schools, to pay players, collectively bargain and increase revenue. “The current model for college athletics is dead.

The schools own the league, much like MLS. Sold as one TV property. Bottom 10 schools can be promoted/relegated.

From Andrew Marchand: The group, College Sports Tomorrow, has some heavy hitters involved in it, including the No. 2 exec at the NFL, Brian Rolapp, who was the mastermind behind the league's current $110 billion in TV rights deals.

Full story:

Notre Dame 2026 quarterback target Brady Hart was at the Rivals Camp Series stop in the Miami area on Sunday. He came sporting a Florida Gators towel.

Rumor Mill from @John Garcia Jr.:


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A couple of 2026 Notre Dame targets made @Adam Gorney's recruiting rumor mill.


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Ben Nichols was in South Bend over the weekend as @Charleston Bowles and @Tyler James reported on the site. I caught up with him to get his thoughts on the visit.

"It was great!! They preach that they’re a great football program but beyond that, what they are doing to help their guys after football for the rest of their lives," Nichols said.

The coaches that the Michigan native spent the most time with during the trip was Coach Rudolph, Delaney and Freeman. The message was well received about how much they want him to be part of the Notre Dame family.

"They think i’m a great player and did great at camp," Nichols said. "They definitely see my personality and play fitting in with the rest of the guys there right now."

When asked where Notre Dame fits within his top schools, the lineman told me that they certainly are in his top 3 after the visit.

"I just wanna feel like I belong there," Nichols said. "I wanna like the guys I’m going to be around for the next four years and get that at-home vibe."

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In @Greg Smith's Midwest Spotlight, he highlights Notre Dame as one of five Midwest programs off to a strong start in the 2026 recruiting class.

“I definitely feel like I’m wanted over there,” 2025 safety target JaDon Blair said following his Notre Dame visit. “I definitely feel like I’m needed and wanted. The whole time I was up there, I wasn’t getting pressed to commit or anything, but they were making it known that they can’t wait for me to — or if I did, they would be extremely happy. They would text me being extremely loving to me.

“They made it known how much of a great thing it would be for me to commit to Notre Dame. They were telling me over and over again.”


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Here's my Q&A with wide receiver Devin Carter, the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2026 class, following his visit to Notre Dame on Saturday.

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Questions have been paraphrased. I'll have a full story later.

DEVIN CARTER

What made you want to get up to Notre Dame?

“First of all, any team that offers me, I give them the chance to show me what they got and give them an opportunity in my recruiting process. Right now, I like Notre Dame, coach Brown, coach Denbrock and coach Freeman. I like them. I was just excited to get up.”

What stood out during your Notre Dame visit?

“I was able to watch practice, and I liked the intensity of the practice and how fast the guys were moving. Just how everybody picked up each other when someone was doing wrong and corrected it immediately. I like the culture around Notre Dame.”

What's your relationship with coach Brown?

“Our first time meeting was actually on Saturday, so it’s still new and fresh. But I’m looking forward to what’s in front of us and how are relationship builds from now on.”

What’s your sense for coach Freeman?

“He’s cool. He’s laidback. But he’s hard on you whenever he needs to be. That’s what I like about him. You need a coach that can coach you hard and get your where you need to be. Not all the time it’s going to be sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes you gotta get coached hard. That’s what I like about him.”

What did you see from ND’s offense?

“They’re going to throw the ball a lot, and they’re going to get the ball in their playmakers’ hands in space just like coach Denbrock did at LSU last year. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with this offense this year.”

You've been traveling so much, how are you holding up?

“Holding up good enough.”

Tomorrow is Ohio State and the last one for a while. Trying to get up to the LSU and Louisville spring games.

What’s it been like with so many visits in such a short amount of time?

“It’s a blessing to be honest. Not everybody is able to do this. I appreciate my family for taking me on these trips and letting me see what would best fit me for my college decision. I’m just enjoying it right now, letting it play out.”

Any visits that surprised you?

“Yeah. The LSU visit I really liked. Notre Dame surprised me a little bit. Ohio State tomorrow I’m really excited for.”

What are you looking for in a school?

“A coaching staff and a receivers coach who can develop me into a first-round wide receiver draft pick. I’m looking for a coach who can develop me into that and develop me into the best I can be. A coaching staff that will stay on me and coach me hard.”

What went into your decision to decommit from Florida State?

“It was just too early. I didn’t get to look around as much as I needed to to make an informed decision on where I’m going to go to college. Florida State’s still a top school for me, but I just needed to take a step back and see other schools.”

How has your dad helped your recruiting process?

“He’s played a big role. He’s been here before, so he tells me what I need to look for and what will help me, his opinions on coaches that we get to talk to. I’m really appreciative of him and thankful that he’s my father and he’s in my corner throughout this process.”

Do you think you'll get back to ND?

“Yes sir. I’m going to try to get there for a game this fall.”

What’s left to learn about Notre Dame?

“I learned a lot. Now I just have to sit back and watch what the coaches do with this team and what coach Denbrock is doing with the offense this year and the year after that. Hopefully it’s good enough for me to make a decision and hopefully for Notre Dame fans, it’s Notre Dame.”

What are your academic interests?

“I take academics very seriously, because one day football’s going to end. Football doesn’t last forever, and money doesn’t last forever. You’re going to have to be able to pick up after football and feed your family. I’m looking for a school that can give me great academics and a great football program. Notre Dame can do that.”

Notre Dame has success with NFL kids? Why do you think that is?

“The school is a prestigious program that’s been doing this for years. I don’t see it stopping any time soon. Anyone that gets to go there and has the opportunity to go there like I do, they shouldn’t take it for granted. Learn about Notre Dame and see if that’s what’s best for them.”

Notre Dame baseball looked buried and was about to get run-ruled.

The Irish trailed No. 2 Clemson 11-1 through 6 1/2 innings Sunday after dropping the first two games of a home series against the Tigers.

An RBI single by second baseman Connor Hincks in the bottom of the seventh and kept the game alive rather than it being called early if ND trailed by 10 through seven innings.

Then the Irish (14-15, 2-13 ACC) crawled all the way back with four runs in the eighth inning and five more in the ninth to force extras only to fall short, 13-12, in 11 innings.

Notre Dame's rally started to get real in the eighth with an RBI double by third baseman Estevan Moreno, a two-run double by designated hitter Tito Flores and an RBI sacrifice fly by Hincks.

The bottom of the ninth featured a three-run bomb by Moreno, an RBI single by Flores and shortstop Jackson Penney scoring all the way from second on a passed ball to tie the game. With a chance to win the game, right fielder Brady Gumpf popped up to third base with Casey Kmet stranded at third.

Sloppy Notre Dame defense in the 11th inning gave the game away. An error by first baseman Josh Hahn advanced pinch runner Devin Parks to second base. After a Jarren Purify walk and a Jacob Jarrell pop-up, Clemson (28-3, 10-2) took the lead with Parks and Purify scoring on a throwing error by Penney that would have ended the inning. Notre Dame committed five errors in the loss.

Penney scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 11th after reaching on a throwing error by pitcher Rocco Reid and advancing to third. An RBI groundout plated Penney and moved Kmet to second base. But Gumpf, who finished 0-for-6 from the plate, grounded out to end the game.

Notre Dame used eight pitchers in the game starting with sophomore Rory Fox. He allowed eight hits, three earned runs and six unearned runs while striking out six in 4 1/3 innings. David Lally Jr (0-1) was saddled with the loss by pitching the last four outs of the game. He walked one and struck out another while ceding two unearned runs.

The Irish have now been swept in four of their first five conference series this season. They beat Miami twice for their only ACC wins.

Notre Dame is set to host Butler (13-16) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. EDT ahead of a three-game series at No. 13 North Carolina (26-6, 11-4) on Friday-Sunday.

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I know @Eric Hansen wants to flex his women's basketball knowledge on everyone. I can create a women's basketball tournament group for subscribers to compete in. We probably won't have any prizes for this one, only because I'm not sure I can keep track of both. But do we have enough people that want to put The Insider Lounge pride on the line with a women's bracket?

UPDATE:

I've created a group to compete with fellow subscribers here on The Insider Lounge.

The password is ndwbb

Follow the link below to sign up!


STANDINGS LINK:

At least 10 targets in the 2025 and 2026 classes are expected to visit Notre Dame this weekend. @Charleston Bowles has a full preview:

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Notre Dame 2025 wide receiver target Tanook Hines made his way to campus for the first time in his recruitment on Saturday.

Hines, a four-star per Rivals, reported an offer from the Irish last December. He attends Houston Dekaney and holds 32 total offers including Arkansas, Arizona State, Baylor, Houston, Kansas, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, USC, Texas and Texas A&M. Per his X/Twitter account, he runs a 4.41 40-yard dash and 10.5 100-meter dash.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Hines is currently ranked higher than each of Notre Dame's three WR commits but is lower in the position rankings than other Irish targets Talyn Taylor and Derek Meadows.

In January, Hines visited Baylor, Texas and Texas A&M for their junior days, and has set official visits to Arizona State, USC, Arkansas and Baylor.

He plans to take his official visit to Notre Dame from June 14-16. He has been added to our running visitors list thread.

Inside ND Sports spoke with Hines following his visit to learn why he felt it was necessary to visit Notre Dame, how serious a player the Irish will be in his recruitment, practice takeaways and more. Here are a few notes from our conversation:

On his trip:

"I loved the visit," Hines said. "I felt it was important to see the campus and how they coach before an official visit because this was real everyday life ... if I go to school there, an official visit is just showing you all the good stuff. My favorite moments was [seeing] the stadium, the golden dome and football Jesus."

On what he noticed in practice:

"[Sophomore wide receiver] Jaden Greathouse was killing. The offense rewards wide receivers that can run away from defenders and I love that because that’s what I do. I like [wide receivers] coach [Mike] Brown, he reminds me of my wide receiver coaches, coach Finney and coach Frazier back home. The stuff he’s teaching the wide receivers at Notre Dame I’ve already been learning back home so it was like, 'Oh yeah, I can mess with this.'"

On what he would bring to Notre Dame's offense:

"My style of play is what we call hide and seek. If you blink, you’ll be chasing me. My big play ability is my speed. I can turn the game into a track meet. I stretch the field vertically very fast or I can catch a hitch and disappear down the sideline ... for Irish fans, think Will Fuller."

Per MaxPreps. Hines had 35 receptions, 528 yards and five touchdowns as a junior. He did not play a full season due to injury. He caught 50 receptions for 867 yards and eight touchdowns in 2022. Dekaney is in Class 6A in Texas.

Link to full story:


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The third and final part of our multi-part series with Notre Dame's new athletic director. Links to Part I and II are in the editor's note at the top of the story.

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Rivals national recruiting analyst @John Garcia Jr. caught up with Notre Dame 2025 four-star defensive tackle Davion Dixon on Sunday morning at RCS Miami to break down his commitment to the Irish.

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