The goal of any program is to continually stack recruiting classes and supplement calculated attrition with top-level talent. Notre Dame is one of the top five programs in the country that have done that under head coach Marcus Freeman and this year, with the exception of a few, all players on the 2026 roster have been recruited, signed and developed under Freeman and his coaching staffs.
Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class will carry a significant impact on the offensive side of the ball returning the two most veteran receivers, important pieces in the trenches and one player that has the opportunity to have a massive breakout.
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Headlining the 2023 offensive class are receivers Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse. Faison ended last season as Notre Dame’s leading receiver hauling in 49 receptions for 640 receiving yards, averaged 13.1 yards per catch and four touchdowns. This was Faison’s first fully healthy season in the starting lineup and it didn’t disappoint. Greathouse had an underwhelming 2025 season, mostly due to a severe hamstring injury.
Thankfully, the 6-1, 212-pound Texas native returns for, what will now be, his redshirt junior season. Greathouse finished the 2024 season off on an impressive note catching a combined 13 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns in the Orange Bowl and National Championship game. Both Faison and Greathouse bring a combined 162 receptions, 2,248 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns worth of production back to Notre Dame’s receiving corps in 2026.
Along with Greathouse and Faison, offensive guard Charles Jagusah is expected to make his entrance into the starting lineup this upcoming season. We’ve seen Jagusah in limited sample sizes over the course of his career. He’s been one of the highest ceiling players in the trenches for the Irish the last couple of seasons, but has yet to breakout due to injury. The 6-5, 325-pound guard was slated to start in 2025, but a broken arm sidelined him for the season.
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Center Joe Otting stepped into the starting lineup midway through last season due to a knee injury suffered by Ashton Craig from the 2022 recruiting class. Otting will likely be the starting center from Notre Dame throughout the offseason and potentially the first few regular season games until Craig’s return.
Tight end Cooper Flanagan is also returning from injury this season. He suffered an achilles injury towards the end of the 2024 season in the playoffs. Flanagan was slated to return in the post season in 2025 if the Irish had made the College Football Playoffs, but we never got to see his return to the field. This season, the 6-6, 247-pound tight end will make his return and is the favorite, as of today, to win the No. 1 tight end spot.
Offensive lineman Sullivan Absher has been Joe Rudolph’s utility knife throughout his career in South Bend. Last offseason, he played everything from left guard to right tackle in the offseason. After captain, and left guard, Billy Schrauth went down with an MCL injury, Absher stepped into the starting lineup and started the entire month of November. He will have the chance to compete for the vacant left guard spot this offseason.
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There’s a chance he may get beat out by a younger player, but the floor with Absher on the offensive line is still relatively high. Fellow offensive lineman Christopher Terek is entering his redshirt junior season this fall. He will be one of the players in contention for the vacant left guard position. The 6-5, 326-pound guard has seen limited action throughout his career but will be given the opportunity to solidify himself in the starting lineup or two-deep this offseason.
The 2023 recruiting class has the opportunity to anchor Notre Dame’s offense in 2026. Your two most veteran receivers are in this class along with one an offensive lineman in Jagusah who has one of the highest ceilings in the room. Otting will likely start at center until Craig’s return and play a key role in solidifying the offensive line. All four of those players have the ‘ole reliable’ factor to them and will be the safety net for the rest of the offense.
We’ve seen Faison and Greathouse both be that option in the passing game in 2024 and 2025. Notre Dame’s receiving corps is young, but extremely talented. Both players will have to continue leading from the front. Jagusah has seen very limited time playing, but the games we’ve seen him in have been a bowl game in 2023, the Orange Bowl and the National Championship game. If healthy throughout the offseason, Jagusah steps in and immediately becomes one of your most talented offensive lineman.
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