FIW Roundtable: Which Notre Dame offensive player we believe breaks out this fall

USA Today

a day ago

With Notre Dame football's fall camp underway, it's pretty easy to look ahead to what could be in store for the Irish in 2025.
They'll enter the year with massive expectations, many pundits expecting another berth into the College Football Playoff. The schedule is front loaded, opening on road against Miami, then hosting Texas A&M, both ranked opponents.
For Notre Dame to make a return trip to the CFP, they'll need some players to step up and fill voids that were stalwarts last year. The Fighting Irish Wire crew of Tim Healey, Dave Miller and Michael Chen will make their best guesses over the course of the next few weeks as to what this Notre Dame season will show us.
Let's start off with who we believe will be a breakout player on offense.
Tim Healey - contributor
Is it a breakout if Jeremiyah Love does what he did last year, and then some? OK, fine, I guess I have to pick someone who wasn't one of last year's stars.
I'm inclined to think that whoever wins the quarterback battle might be the breakout star. Easy answer, I know, but both CJ Carr and Kenny Minchey could be that guy. Carr seems to pass the eye test, and Minchey has knowledge of the offense and running ability.
Another possible breakout is wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. He had a solid year last year, but if the new passer is a success, he could take a leap forward.
If he does, that would be huge. Notre Dame's passing game wasn't exactly bad last year, but it wasn't as consistently effective as the ground game. If the passing game becomes as much of a threat as the running game, the Irish might be even better in 2025 than in 2024 which is why I'm taking Greathouse.
Dave Miller - contributor
There probably weren't a ton of college football observers who thought Kenny Minchey would push CJ Carr for the starting quarterback job, but here we are. Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman is expected to decide on a starter coming out of Notre Dame's scrimmage this weekend, and I still ultimately think Carr will be the guy and have success with his surrounding playmakers in this offense.
But picking a quarterback is the easy way out.
So I'm also going with Greathouse, who finished the 2024 season with two consecutive 100-yard receiving games and three touchdowns. The rising junior shined during the College Football Playoff run, and he has a chance to be a matchup nightmare if he's lined up in the slot.
Bringing in Virginia transfer Malachi Fields to the receiving room was huge for this offense, but he's already a proven commodity. Greathouse has a chance to become a household name starting with the season opener at Miami.
Michael Chen - site lead
While I think that Greathouse is a great pick to breakout, he just seems like the obvious choice to me, so I'm staying away from picking him.
There are more than a few others that I considered, like offensive lineman Will Black (too young), wide receiver Will Pauling (new to scheme), running back Aneyas Williams (not enough playing time), but eventually settled on offensive lineman Guerby Lambert.
Isn't not a sexy choice, but it's looking like he's playing himself into a starting spot after entering the program as one of the top offensive lineman in the 2024 cycle. Lambert got his feet wet last fall, and while it was a redshirt year, it was put to good use. Getting on the field during the CFP was great, even though it was just on special teams.
While offensive lineman coach Joe Rudolph hasn't named his starters yet, the chip above shows him with the starting group. There isn't as much experience with this group as there was last year, and someone will have to step up with the injury to Charles Jagusah. My bet is on Lambert.
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