Notre Dame football names six captains for 2025 season

Notre Dame has named six captains for the 2025 season: junior linebacker Drayk Bowen, redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Hinish, redshirt senior wide receiver Will Pauling, redshirt junior guard Billy Schrauth, redshirt sophomore safety Adon Shuler and redshirt junior offensive tackle Aamil Wagner.

The Irish announced their captains, which are voted on by the players each year, on Monday.

Six is tied for the most captains the Irish have named under head coach Marcus Freeman; they named six in 2022 as well. Last season, Notre Dame had five captains: Linebacker Jack Kiser, quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive tackle Rylie Mills, cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts.

Bowen has been ticketed for captainship since the national championship game in Atlanta, when teammates told him in the postgame locker room, “This is your team now.”

The starting Mike linebacker has lived up to that billing throughout the offseason, and then some. He filled Kiser’s role as the “central communicator” in the middle of Notre Dame’s defense, according to defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

“He’s one of those guys that’s not afraid to speak up when someone needs to speak up,” Ash said in June. “And then when he goes out there on the practice field, he’s going to play with great fundamentals, try to execute his job every single rep. And when you got guys that do that, people naturally are gonna look up to him.”

Hinish follows in the footsteps of his brother, Kurt, who was a Notre Dame captain in 2021. An undersized defensive tackle, Hinish won the admiration of his teammates with his tireless work ethic and his attitude on the field.

He has also, if fall camp practice viewings are to be believed, given himself the upper hand in Notre Dame’s competition at nose tackle and could start in his fourth season in South Bend.

Pauling, a transfer from Wisconsin, is Notre Dame’s fourth transfer addition to become a captain and third to do so in his first year with the Irish. Safety Alohi Gilman (2019), quarterback Sam Hartman (2023) and quarterback Riley Leonard (2024) are the first three.

A non-quarterback transfer addition being named a captain is extremely rare, but Pauling earned it over the offseason. Coaches and teammates joked that he lived at the Guglielmino Athletics Complex, setting an example for younger players with his habits on and off the field.

Schrauth and Wagner have also earned their teammates respect up front throughout their three-plus years with the program.

“‘Who would you most like to line up next to?’ is one of my questions I ask each O-Linemen, and every single guy says ‘Billy Schrauth,’” Notre Dame offensive line coach Joe Rudolph said. “He has a vibe because of his mentality, his toughness, the way he wants to attack things, and makes me feel confident with his energy and his approach. That’s leadership. 

“Same thing, ‘Who do you trust the most in your every day?’ And so many guys mention Aamil Wagner, and talk about just having a vision and seeing bigger picture things and helping guys to progress and get through things.”

Finally, Shuler is set to take over Watts’ role as the leader on the back end of Notre Dame’s defense. He broke out in 2024 and added a “tough Jersey kid” edge to the secondary.

Notre Dame begins the 2025 season at 7:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 at Miami.