TRIPLE THREAT: Jordan Faison, Drayk Bowen, and Jonaz Walton

I think we can stop referring to Jordan Faison as “former walk-on” or “lacrosse player” moving forward. Jordan made the decision to go all in for football this spring despite being a national champion on the lacrosse team — with the possibility of another title looking good this spring. But… he wants that team glory for football.

Faison has been better than solid and was one of Carr’s most reliable targets last year because Jordan is a guy that seemingly always finds a way to get open. Without question he steps into 2026 as Notre Dame’s best receiver, and he’s been listed as one of the nation’s best for 2026 by multiple outlets.

DRAYK BOWEN #34

HEIGHT 6-2
WEIGHT 232
CLASS SENIOR
HOMETOWN ST. JOHN, IN
HIGH SCHOOL ANDREAN

Drayk Bowen is a two year starter at linebacker and a returning captain. Over those two seasons, Bowen has amassed 145 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 3 forced fumbles. More than the stats, however, Bowen has been a throwback of sorts on the defensive side of the ball because of his physical play — and just a demeanor you might remember better on middle linebackers of 20 years ago.

Notre Dame’s defensive scheme under Chris Ash has Bowen doing multiple things, but he’s best served as a run stopper and chaos creator around the line of scrimmage. There’s no doubt in my mind that Bowen will be voted in as a team captain again, which with as many defensive studs as the Irish have this year — it says a lot about him as a player and as a leader.

JONAZ WALTON #20

HEIGHT 5-9
WEIGHT 214
CLASS FRESHMAN
HOMETOWN CARROLLTON, GA
HIGH SCHOOL CENTRAL

Notre Dame has been a fantastic job recruiting and developing running backs for a number of years now. It should be tough to go down to Georgia and get the best running back in the Peach State, but the Irish sold him (with Javian Osbourne in the fold) on what Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price were doing in South Bend — as well as everything else the Irish have to offer.

Walton got a huge leg up in the race for playing time this fall by being RB3 by default, and getting most of the carries in the Blue-Gold Game. Injuries to Kedron Young and classmate Javian Osbourne gave him an opportunity to show what he can do before the Irish hit the ground running in fall camp. While I’m not anywhere close to predicting Walton to be RB2, RB3, or even RB4… I do expect him to make things interesting.