Which Notre Dame’s opponents’ players made On3’s Top 100?

Notre Dame’s offensive line should have their hands full this football season. At least, that is what On3’s Clark Brooks suggests. 

In releasing his Top 100 Players in College Football for the 2024 season, Brooks listed seven players the Fighting Irish will face next season. Five of them were defensive linemen, including four edge rushers. 

Here is a breakdown of those players. A look at who he recognized from Notre Dame can be found here. 

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Texas A&M

No. 43 — EDGE Nic Scourtorn

New Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko can expect EDGE Nic Scourton — formerly known as Nic Caraway — to be the face of his defense in 2024. The former Purdue Boilermaker was the sixth EDGE and only Aggie on Brooks’ list. 

Elko’s program plucked the former Bryan (Texas) High product out of the transfer portal this offseason. Last season, Scourton totaled 50 tackles (33 solo), 15 for loss, 10 sacks and 3 pass breakups for the Boilermakers. He also forced a fumble.

Purdue

No. 89 — Safety Dillon Thieneman

A 2023 graduate of Westfield (Ind.) High, Dillon Thieneman has already become one of the nation’s top defensive backs. He completed his first season in West Lafayette, Ind., as the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) freshman of the year and an Associated Press third-team All-American. 

Brooks only ranked five safeties ahead of him, including Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts. Thieneman had 106 tackles (74 solo), 2 TFLs, 6 interceptions, 8 passes defensed and 2 forced fumbles in 2023. 

No. 95 — EDGE Kydran Jenkins

Despite losing Scourton to the portal, Purdue retained rising fifth-year player Kydran Jenkins. The 6-foot-1, 260-pounder checks in as Brooks’ No. 95 overall player and No. 13 EDGE. 

The All-Big Ten Honorable Mention was second in the conferences in TFLs with 15.5 last season. That mark also ranked No. 18 in the nation. He added 7.5 sacks, which was good for third place in the Big Ten. 

Louisville 

No. 38 — EDGE Ashton Gillotte

Notre Dame should know all about Ashton Gillotte, Brooks’ No. 4 EDGE. Gillotte was a game-changer in the Cardinals’ 33-20 upset of Notre Dame last season. The second-team All-American had 2.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble against the Irish. 

Gillotte recorded 45 tackles, 14.5 TFLs, and 11 sacks on the season. In addition to being recognized as an All-American, he was first-team All-ACC. 

No. 70 — Cornerback Quincy Riley

Rising redshirt senior Quincy Riley also played a big part in Louisville’s victory last season. The No. 10 cornerback on Brooks’ list picked off Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman on the game’s fourth play. The 6-foot, 195-pounder also had a pass breakup and 4 tackles that week.

The ACC named him an honorable mention following his fifth college football season. The former Middle Tennessee standout had 45 tackles, 2 interceptions and 8 pass breakups in 2023. 

Florida State

No. 66 — EDGE Patrick Payton

Eventual Top 40 NFL Draft picks Jared Verse and Braden Fiske were the most recognized players on Florida State’s defensive line in 2023. That did not prevent Brooks from putting Patrick Payton at No. 66 overall and No. 9 among EDGE rushers entering 2024. 

Payton was an All-ACC honorable mention in 2023, registering 44 tackles, 14.5 TFLs and 7 sacks. His 10 pass breakups were the most by a defensive lineman in the conference since 2016. He has the profile to end up in the same company as Verse and Fiske.

USC

No. 79 — Defensive lineman Bear Alexander

One year after USC secured Bear Alexander out of the transfer portal from Georgia, the 6-foot-3, 313-pounder was set to search for a new home again. That was until the rising junior retracted his intention to enter the portal and remain in Los Angeles instead.  

The Trojans can be glad he did because he was the only player from the program that Brooks recognized. In his one season at USC, Alexander accounted for 47 tackles (27 solo), 6.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. He was a non-factor against the Irish, failing to record any statistics. 

Brooks slotted seven defensive linemen ahead of Alexander.