(Photo: Chad Ryan)
Less than two months after the 2024 season ended in the national championship game in Atlanta, Georgia, Notre Dame has kicked off its spring football season, which will culminate on April 13, 2025, with the 94th annual Blue-Gold Game.
The sort portion of first practice session Wednesday (March 19) that the media was allowed to observe, consisted mainly of a warm-up, followed by some agility drills, running, and throwing against air by the quarterbacks. Contact was definitely not part of the day-one viewing, but a few key observations stood out.
Jordan Faison participated in the practice, despite currently being one of the leading scorers on Notre Dame’s 7th-ranked lacrosse team. Last season, Faison had little involvement with spring football beyond observing, but the plan this year is for him to be more involved. After practice, Freeman confirmed this, saying, “He’s getting football, probably getting more football this spring than he did last year.”
A few weeks ago, head trainer Rob Hunt confirmed that Jeremiyah Love, who suffered a knee injury during the playoffs last season, would be on a “monitored workload.” However, Love participated without any sign of limitation and without a brace on his knee. This is promising news for the electrifying running back, who has been mentioned as a preseason Heisman Trophy contender. Gi’Bran Payne, who missed all of last season due to an ACL tear, also showed up fit and ready to go.
Another player who was limited but will be counted on to contribute in 2025 is 6-2, 205-pound safety Jalen Stroman, a transfer from Virginia Tech. Stroman is recovering from a shoulder injury and will not be involved in contact this spring. However, he was participating in agility drills, and his physical presence, seen for the first time, made it clear he is a big-hitting defender who is expected to play extensively in the middle of the Notre Dame defense.
During an appearance before the media post practice, Freeman addressed several topics of interest, including one that is at the forefront of everyone’s mind: the quarterback position. Referring to Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey, and CJ Carr, Freeman did not tip his hand to any kind of pecking order. “They’re going to split reps, and each day could be different… and we’ll name a starter when a starter clearly shows that he is the best quarterback,” Freeman said. He also mentioned his plan for the position: “I don’t want to put a timetable on it, and I refuse to do that.”
Freeman also commented on the value of continuing to hold a spring game, even as some other major programs are doing away with the exhibitions. “We will have a spring game… it’s a chance to really integrate our community and our fans with this football program.”
The head coach also reflected on the historically short “break” he had between the final game on January 20 and the start of spring practice. In just 60 days, Freeman has been busy with staff adjustments, recruiting, and numerous other responsibilities. When asked when he was able to turn the page from 2024 to 2025, his answer was direct: “Today. There’s just been a lot of stuff to do and handle from the end of the season till now.”
When asked what benefits this team could take from their 2024 run to the national title game, Freeman spoke about how he hopes to build off that experience. “I have a strong belief that your past creates the foundation for your present.” He concluded, “We have to use every experience that we had in 2024 as a program to help us as we move forward to ’25.”
As the Irish kick off spring football season, there’s excitement surrounding key players, new additions and a quarterback competition. Mix it all together with Marcus Freeman’s emphasis on building off the 2024 national title run and it should set the the stage for a strong 2025 season.