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Notre Dame

Four Notre Dame players ranked in PFF’s top 10 for 2025 at each position

IMG_7504by: Jack Soble04/08/25jacksoble56
Jeremiyah love-8
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. (Mike Miller, Blue & Gold)

Pro Football Focus’ annual list of the top 10 college football players at each position are out, and the No. 1 spot at two of them belong to Notre Dame.

According to PFF, the Irish have the best returning running back in the nation in Jeremiyah Love, as well as the best returning cornerback in Leonard Moore. The PFF analyst in charge of the list, Max Chadwick, has said he believes Love and Moore are two of the best players in college football regardless of position.

One advanced stat stood out for Love in particular: His 38 percent forced missed tackle rate was second among Power Four running backs in 2024.

“[Love’s] fantastic athleticism allows him to run through or hurdle defenders, making him a threat to score from anywhere on the field,” Chadwick wrote.

Moore is the seventh rising sophomore to be named the top returning player at his position since PFF began crafting these lists in 2020. Notably, three of them (Moore, Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons and Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith) came this year.

He was the third-most valuable cornerback in college football as a true freshman, according to PFF’s wins above average statistic.

“The former three-star recruit is a smooth athlete at 6-foot-2 who mirrors receivers at an elite level already,” Chadwick wrote. “In fact, he only allowed 16 of his 42 targets in single coverage to be caught.”

The Irish placed two more players on PFF’s top-10 lists: Junior Drayk Bowen is the No. 9 linebacker and senior Aamil Wagner is the No. 5 offensive tackle. 

Bowen has missed only 6.3 percent of his tackling attempts over the course of his career, developing a reputation as one of the steadiest linebackers in the game.

“The rising junior is a very physical player who will need to assume more of a leadership role in 2025 following Jack Kiser’s departure,” Chadwick wrote.

Wagner was Notre Dame’s rock on an offensive line that dealt with injuries and inexperience throughout the 2024 season.

“He finished his junior year as the third-most-valuable Power Four tackle according to our WAA metric,” Chadwick wrote. “Wagner’s 78.1 run-blocking grade was also 17th among Power Four offensive tackles. He held up well as a pass protector as well, allowing just two sacks on 496 pass-blocking snaps.”

Additionally, Virginia graduate transfer tight end Malachi Fields was named an honorable mention for the top-10 wide receivers list.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish ranked in top 10 among returning players at each position by PFF

Player, Pos.Rk.
Jeremiyah Love, RB1
Leonard Moore, CB1
Aamil Wagner, OT5
Drayk Bowen, LB9

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