Updated Friday, September 4, 2026. This is Notre Dame’s official Week 1 depth chart, released Monday, August 31 ahead of the Sunday night opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field. Notre Dame issues a new chart every game week; this page is updated each time and after every game.
No. 4 Notre Dame’s first depth chart of the Marcus Freeman era’s fifth season is mostly what was expected, with one big reshuffle: the offensive line. Will Black makes his first career start at left tackle, Anthonie Knapp moves inside to guard after 27 starts at tackle, Guerby Lambert slides out to right tackle, and Ashton Craig is back at center after a season ending knee injury. The right guard job is still an OR between Sullivan Absher and Styles Prescod.
Offense
| Position | Starter | Backup | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | CJ Carr (13), Jr. | Noah Grubbs (10) OR Teddy Jarrard (9), both Fr. | — |
| RB | Aneyas Williams (22), Jr. | Nolan James Jr. (2) OR Kedren Young (21) | Jonaz Walton (20) OR Javian Osborne (26), both Fr. |
| WR (field) | Jordan Faison (6), Sr. | Matt Jeffery (33), Jr. | Cam Williams (5) OR Logan Saldate (19) |
| WR (slot) | Jaden Greathouse (1) OR Mylan Graham (3) | Bubba Frazier (4), Fr. | — |
| WR (boundary) | Micah Gilbert (14), Jr. | Elijah Burress (17) OR Jerome Bettis Jr. (8) | Quincy Porter (out, knee) |
| TE | Cooper Flanagan (87) OR James Flanigan (88) | Ty Washington (7) OR Jack Larsen (85) | — |
| LT | Will Black (74), So. | Charlie Thom (68) OR Grayson McKeogh (65), both Fr. | — |
| LG | Anthonie Knapp (54), Jr. | Cam Herron (57), So. | — |
| C | Ashton Craig (70), 5th | Joe Otting (64), Sr. | — |
| RG | Sullivan Absher (75) OR Styles Prescod (71) | — | — |
| RT | Guerby Lambert (76), Jr. | Owen Strebig (78) OR Charlie Thom (68) | — |
Defense
| Position | Starter | Backup | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| DE | Boubacar Traore (5), Sr. | Loghan Thomas (10), Jr. | Rodney Dunham (44), Fr. |
| DT | Armel Mukam (88), Sr. | Francis Brewu (7), Jr. | Elijah Hughes (56), Sr. |
| DT | Jason Onye (47), 6th | Tionne Gray (0), Jr. | Sean Sevillano Jr. (59), Jr. |
| DE | Bryce Young (95), Jr. | Keon Keeley (11), Sr. | — |
| WILL | Jaiden Ausberry (4), Sr. | Jaylen Sneed (3), 5th | — |
| MIKE | Drayk Bowen (34), Sr. | Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (27, questionable, knee) OR Madden Faraimo (19) | — |
| Nickel | Christian Gray (29), Sr. | Dallas Golden (1) OR Jayden Sanders (12) | — |
| CB | Leonard Moore (15), Jr. | Mark Zackery IV (24), So. | — |
| CB (field) | DJ McKinney (2) OR Jayden Sanders (12) | — | — |
| S (boundary) | Adon Shuler (8), Sr. | Joey O’Brien (20), Fr. | — |
| S (field) | Brauntae Johnson (9), Jr. | Luke Talich (28), Sr. | — |
Special Teams
| PK | Spencer Porath (35), Jr.; Micah Drescher (36), Fr. |
| KO | Erik Schmidt (18), So.; Micah Drescher |
| P / H | Jasper Scaife (39), Fr.; Erik Schmidt |
| LS | Joseph Vinci (96); Andrew Kros (49) |
| PR | Jordan Faison; Jaden Greathouse OR Aneyas Williams |
| KR | Aneyas Williams OR Nolan James Jr.; Jonaz Walton OR Kedren Young |
Injury Report (Aug. 31)
Questionable: LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (left knee). Out: OL Matty Augustine (foot), DL Christopher Burgess Jr. (tibia), DL Tiki Hola (knee), OL Charles Jagusah (humerus), LB Ko’o Kia (shoulder), WR Quincy Porter (knee), DB Chaz Smith (wrist), OL Chris Terek (knee).
Position Breakdown
Quarterback. CJ Carr is the starter. Notre Dame declined to name a single backup, listing freshmen Noah Grubbs and Teddy Jarrard as co No. 2s; Freeman said the battle remains unsettled.
Running back. Aneyas Williams leads a backfield that lost both of last year’s top backs to the NFL. Nolan James Jr. and Kedren Young form the second tier; freshmen Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne are the third.
Receiver. Jordan Faison on the field side and Micah Gilbert on the boundary are set. Jaden Greathouse and Mylan Graham share the slot; Graham will play a lot at both slot and field as the Irish ease Greathouse back after nearly a year away. Quincy Porter is out with a knee injury and not on the chart.
Tight end. Cooper Flanagan OR James Flanigan at the top, with Ty Washington and Jack Larsen competing for the third spot after Larsen’s camp surge.
Offensive line. The story of the chart. Black at left tackle, Knapp inside to left guard, Craig back at center over Joe Otting, Lambert out to right tackle, and Absher OR Prescod at right guard with Freeman saying the decision comes this week. Depth is thin: Jagusah, Terek and Augustine are all out, leaving freshmen Charlie Thom and Grayson McKeogh as the tackle backups. Thom is listed at both tackle spots.
Defensive line. Freeman called it the deepest unit on the team. Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young at end, Armel Mukam over Francis Brewu at one tackle, sixth year Jason Onye at the other. Burgess and Hola are out.
Linebacker. Drayk Bowen at Mike, Jaiden Ausberry at Will. Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa is questionable with a knee but is expected to play a lot if cleared; Madden Faraimo is the alternative.
Secondary. Leonard Moore at one corner, Christian Gray at nickel, Adon Shuler and Brauntae Johnson at safety. The other corner spot is DJ McKinney OR Michigan transfer Jayden Sanders, who is also listed behind Gray at nickel. Luke Talich, Dallas Golden and Joey O’Brien give Notre Dame the deepest secondary in the country.
The Bottom Line
Notre Dame is settled at quarterback, tailback, the defensive front and most of the secondary. The rebuilt offensive line, the right guard decision and the backup quarterback are the open items heading to Lambeau. The opener is previewed at Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame and the full slate is on our Notre Dame schedule. This page is updated with each weekly chart.