Head coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday that Notre Dame football would vote for and appoint captains for the 2024 season soon.
Soon came one day later when the captains were announced by the football program on social media. The Irish will have five captains this season: linebacker Jack Kiser, quarterback Riley Leonard, defensive tackle Rylie Mills, cornerback Benjamin Morrison and safety Xavier Watts.
The four captains on the defensive side of the ball illustrate the amount of talent and experience retained within the program during the offseason. Expectations are high for defensive coordinator Al Golden’s unit that finished last season ranked among the top 10 FBS programs in team passing efficiency (No. 1), passing yards allowed (No. 3), total defense (No. 5), and scoring defense (No. 7).
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The four defensive captains for the 2024 team played crucial roles in the success of last year’s defense. Three of them are already college graduates: Kiser (sixth year), Mills (fifth year) and Watts (fifth year). Morrison is only a junior, but he may not return to Notre Dame for a fourth season due to first-round NFL Draft projections.
Leonard’s inclusion as a captain speaks to both his assimilation into the program as an offseason transfer from Duke and the confidence in his leadership. Leonard, a senior, represents an offense looking to mix new faces into important roles and younger players ascending into larger ones.
"He’s humble," Notre Dame quarterbacks coach Gino Guidugli said of Leonard earlier this month. "He doesn’t say much. He doesn’t lead by being a rah-rah guy. He’s going to lead by example. So you really started to see his leadership come out when he could start being at more of the workouts in the summer. In the spring when you’re not out there, it’s hard to go out and be a leader.
"The moment he came in here he knew everybody’s name and everybody in the locker room knew, OK, this isn’t some grad transfer quarterback who’s coming in here thinking he’s better than everybody. He knew everyone’s name the day he came in here and when you’re a freshman walk-on and the transfer quarterback comes in and knows your name, I think that’s a pretty cool deal."
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Notre Dame lost all four of its 2023 captains to the NFL this past offseason: left tackle Joe Alt, linebacker JD Bertrand, cornerback Cam Hart and quarterback Sam Hartman. Notre Dame had six captains in Freeman's first season as head coach in 2022: linebacker Bo Bauer, wide receiver Avery Davis, defensive end Isaiah Foskey, tight end Michael Mayer, offensive guard Jarrett Patterson and Bertrand.
Three of Notre Dame's 2024 captains were rated as three-star recruits out of high school by Rivals: Kiser, Leonard and Watts. Mills and Morrison were both four-star recruits. The quintet has combined to play 192 games in college football — Kiser's 53, Mills' 48, Watts' 39, Leonard's 27 and Morrison's 25.
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