2024 Notre Dame Roster: Why Experience and Portal Hype Actually Mattered

Look, let’s be real for a second. Every year at South Bend feels like it’s either the "year" or the "year before the year." But the 2024 Notre Dame roster wasn't just another list of names on a jersey. It was a massive gamble by Marcus Freeman on the transfer portal, mixed with a desperate hope that the homegrown talent was finally ready to stop being "promising" and start being "elite."

It worked. Sorta. Mostly.

Actually, when you look at how the 14-2 season shook out, it’s clear the roster construction was basically a masterclass in modern college football survival. You had Riley Leonard coming in from Duke to fix the quarterback "problem," a defensive line that looked like it was built in a lab, and a freshman class that didn't just sit on the bench and look pretty.

They played. They hit. They won.

The Quarterback Room and the Riley Leonard Factor

Most people thought the quarterback situation would be simple. Grab the best guy in the portal, hand him the keys, and start booking flights for the playoffs. It’s never that easy. Riley Leonard arrived with a ton of hype, and honestly, some massive shoes to fill after Sam Hartman.

Leonard brought a different vibe. He wasn't just a pocket passer; he was a runner who could punish teams with his legs, which we saw when he racked up 21 rushing touchdowns. But let’s not pretend it was all sunshine. The passing game had its moments of... let's call it "character building."

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Behind him, Steve Angeli stayed loyal. That’s rare now. Usually, a guy like Angeli, who showed flashes of brilliance in the 2023 Sun Bowl, would have bailed for a starting job elsewhere. Instead, he stayed, providing a safety net that most programs would kill for. Then you had the young guns—Kenny Minchey and the highly-touted CJ Carr. Carr, specifically, is the name every fan was whispering about in the stands. He’s got the pedigree and the arm, but 2024 was about learning the ropes behind Leonard.

2024 Notre Dame Roster: The Defensive Identity

If the offense was the shiny new toy, the defense was the old reliable engine that kept the whole thing from falling apart. Al Golden’s unit was, frankly, terrifying.

You had the captains leading the charge: Jack Kiser, Rylie Mills, Benjamin Morrison, and the absolute ball-hawk Xavier Watts. Watts coming back for another year was probably the biggest "recruit" Freeman landed all offseason. The guy is a magnet for the football.

• The Interior: Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills were a nightmare for opposing centers. They didn't just take up space; they lived in the backfield.
• The Secondary: Benjamin Morrison is a future first-round lock. Period. Even with the injuries that popped up, the depth at corner with Christian Gray and Leonard Moore (a freshman who played like a senior) was ridiculous.
• The "New" Linebackers: With JD Bertrand and Marist Liufau gone to the NFL, guys like Drayk Bowen and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa had to grow up fast. Viliamu-Asa, in particular, didn't look like a freshman. He hit with the kind of thud that makes you winced in the press box.

The Skill Positions: Speed Over Size?

For years, the knock on the Irish was that they didn't have "SEC speed" at receiver. The 2024 Notre Dame roster tried to kill that narrative. They brought in Beaux Collins from Clemson and Kris Mitchell from FIU. They also had Jayden Harrison, a guy who basically exists to make return coverage units look silly.

But the real story was the "Sophomore Leap" of Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse. Faison, who is a dual-sport freak also playing lacrosse, is just different. He’s twitchy. He finds gaps in zones that shouldn't exist.

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And we have to talk about the backfield. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. That is a "lightning and more lightning" combo. Love averaged nearly 7 yards a carry. Think about that. Every time he touched the ball, he was almost getting a first down on his own. It made Mike Denbrock’s job a whole lot easier in his first year back as offensive coordinator.

The Big Boys Up Front

Losing Joe Alt and Blake Fisher to the NFL (shoutout to the Chargers and Texans) would kill most programs. It almost killed the Irish early on. The offensive line was a constant puzzle.

Anthonie Knapp, a true freshman, starting at left tackle in Week 1 against Texas A&M? That's insane. It's the kind of thing that either makes a kid or breaks him. Knapp held his own. By the time the playoffs rolled around, the unit of Knapp, Sam Pendleton, Ashton Craig (before his injury), Billy Schrauth, and Aamil Wagner had gelled into something functional, if not dominant.

It wasn't perfect. There were games where the pass protection felt like a suggestion rather than a rule. But by the time they were beating Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, the "young" line wasn't young anymore.

What Most People Get Wrong About This Team

Everyone looks at the 14-2 record and the loss to Ohio State in the National Championship and thinks it was just a "talented" team. That misses the point. This roster was a jigsaw puzzle of wildly different backgrounds.

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You had 6th-year seniors like Jack Kiser playing next to 18-year-olds like Viliamu-Asa. You had walk-ons who earned scholarships, like Luke Talich, playing meaningful snaps in the secondary. The 2024 group was a weird, effective blend of old-school Notre Dame grit and new-school portal aggression.

Actionable Insights for the Future

If you're looking at this roster to understand where Notre Dame is going next, keep your eyes on these three things:

1. Freshman Integration: Freeman is no longer scared to play freshmen. If you're good enough, you're old enough. This changes the recruiting pitch significantly.
2. The "Denbrock" Effect: The offense finally has an identity that isn't just "hand it to the big guy." Expect more mobile QBs and vertical threats.
3. Depth as a Weapon: The 2024 season proved that you need 3-deep at every position to survive a 16-game schedule. The Irish finally have the numbers to compete with the Alabamas and Georgias of the world late in January.

The 2024 season wasn't just a fluke. It was the blueprint. The names will change, and some guys will inevitably head to the portal or the NFL, but the way this roster was built—heavy on defense, explosive in the backfield, and aggressive in the portal—is clearly the new standard in South Bend.

Check the current depth charts for the upcoming spring ball to see which of these 2024 stars are sticking around and which freshmen are ready to be the next "Knapp" or "KVA."

Key 2024 Stats Reference

If you want to track how these players transition to the NFL, keep an eye on the upcoming combine invites for the seniors.