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Newsstand: Two Notre Dame stars named top-25 non-QBs in college football

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•05/21/25•

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Notre Dame linebackers Drayk Bowen (34) and Jaylen Sneed celebrate a sack vs. Miami (Ohio). (Photo by Mike Miller)

ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg compiled a list of the top-25 non-quarterbacks in college football. Two Notre Dame players are on it; one is the player you would expect but the other is a bit of a surprise.

The expected shoutout went to junior running back Jeremiyah Love, who Rittenberg said will likely have an expanded role in 2025.

“We spent part of the spring kind of cross-training Jeremiyah more as a wide receiver too,” Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock told Rittenberg. “So if someone is in at running back and we need him in a third-down situation, or we need him in the red zone or in a critical situation to get out in space and make somebody look silly, we have that ability as well.”

The other shoutout went to junior linebacker Drayk Bowen, who has not gotten much national buzz over the offseason. Bowen thrived in the College Football Playoff and produced one of the lowest missed tackle rates in the nation in his first year as a starter.

Rittenberg said Bowen and Adon Shuler are two candidates to step up as leaders with several veterans on defense departing for the NFL.

“This spring, I’ve asked each player to give me their opinion on who our top leaders are, and Drayk Bowen is a guy that comes up consistently,” Irish defensive coordinator Chris Ash told Rittenberg. “He’s smart, he’s tough, he’s intelligent, he’s learned a lot from Jack Kiser about leadership. It’s his time to take that step and become the leader of the defense.”

Notre Dame Tweets of the day

The series with USC should absolutely stay.

Evaluating talent has become one of Notre Dame’s strengths.

Gotta love those gold helmets.

Quote of the day

“Our zone offense was not good today, but I mean, shoot, the last two possessions, we had layups with nobody on the guy. You can’t create anything better than that. … We had chances. We just didn’t shoot the ball well.”

– Notre Dame head men’s lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan on letting a 12-6 lead slip away and losing 14-12 in the NCAA Quarterfinals against Penn State

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