Notre Dame has many stars named to ESPN's most important players in college football
Starting off with their No. 4 most important player in the new starting quarterbacks for likely contenders category was CJ Carr, as Bill Connelly wonders 'can he boost the Irish's upside enough to maybe actually win the national title game (while providing enough of a floor to get them back there)'? That a question that we'd all like answered, but it won't happen right way. He obviously believes that Carr will win the job over Kenny Minchey, which seems like the sentiment nationally.
Both of the Irish's wide receiver transfers in Malachi Fields and Will Pauling were named in the category as most important (non-QB) transfers, although neither of them technically made list. However, cornerbacks Leonard Moore and Christian Gray did in the pure transcendence potential.
Connelly was astounded by the depth that Notre Dame has at the position, noting that it 'lost all-world cornerback Benjamin Morrison to a injury six games into 2024 and didn't miss a single beat because Gray and Moore — then just a sophomore and freshman, respectively — were so damn good.' Star running back Jeremiyah Love (who spoke with us about his NIL deal with New Balance) made this category as well, but not named as one of the main players as was the case with the wide receivers.
It's pretty clear that Notre Dame has plenty of star power entering 2024, as many of its young players emerged last fall and are known commodities. It should be another very successful season in South Bend starting just a few weeks from now.
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