Notre Dame Impact Players For 2025: No. 45 James Flanigan
Notre Dame is now 45 days away from kicking off the 2025 season against the Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. The Irish will be relying on some impact players to get them through the home opener as well as getting them back to another run at the National Championship. I broke down who I believe will be the top 50 impactful players for Notre Dame this season. Let's continue this countdown to kickoff with my No. 45 most impactful player, true freshman tight end James Flanigan.
A true freshman making an impact his first season in South Bend has been relatively consistent under head coach Marcus Freeman. In back to back seasons in 2022 and 2023, we saw two cornerbacks in Benjamin Morrison and Christian Gray cement themselves as impact talents. In 2024, true freshman Anthonie Knapp got the start at left tackle and proceeded to start for 14 more games until his injury late in the playoffs. Flanigan could be the next player on that list based on his skillset and the team's need.
What He Brings To The Table
Flanigan is a 6-6, 240-pound tight end hailing from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He's considered to be a more 'old school' tight end as he does his best work attached to the offensive line and is a tenacious blocker. Flanigan is very long and athletic, but his background in playing high school defensive end and hockey allows him to be an aggressive and powerful blocker at the point of attack, something the Irish desperately need out of the position. He's also a more than capable pass catcher.
Flanigan caught 11 touchdowns as a senior in high school and also finished with 13.0 sacks as a defensive end. The former consensus four-star is a very athletic player who will make it difficult on the coaching staff to keep him off the field, despite having three to four more experienced players in front of him on the depth chart. lanigan has showcased his abilities to work vertically down the field and work the seams, something that offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will be pushing to do with this unit in 2025.
What Is His Impact?
Barring injury, it's unlikely Flanigan will dethrone senior tight end Eli Raridon as the No. 1 tight end in this offense. However, his arrival in South Bend this summer immediately gives the room some much needed depth it has lacked so far this offseason. Because of his versatile skillset, Flanigan presents some unique traits to the offense that the other tight ends don't possess. They lost their best run blocking tight end in Cooper Flanagan late in the playoffs last season with an achilles injury and his timeline to return remains uncertain.
We've seen how Raridon will likely be used in this offense; when you combine Raridon's skillset with Jack Larsen's and Arkansas transfer Ty Washington's skillset, the Irish offense is in need of a solid blocker at tight end. Sixth year senior Kevin Bauman could potentially fit that role, but given his injury history, it's unclear how much will be put on his plate. Flanigan can come in a provide immediate assistance to the Notre Dame run blocking scheme, and with a backfield that features Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and a host of other, run blocking becomes a top-of-the-list priority.
Flanigan can also impact the pass game as well, but his path to on the field success is as a primary run blocker. His diverse skillset, athletic ability, health and size gives him a path to seeing the field as a true freshman which is why I have him ranked as the No. 45 impactful player for Notre Dame this season.
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No. 46 - Noah BurnetteNo. 47 - Guerby LambertNo. 48 - Sullivan AbsherNo. 49 - Jordan BotelhoNo. 50 - Charles JagusahIrish Breakdown Content
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
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