On Jan. 16, 2006, Notre Dame welcomed its first three early enrollees into its football program: Indiana running back James Aldridge, Texas offensive lineman Chris Stewart and Oklahoma wide receiver George West.
They are student-athletes who complete their high school academic requirements by December and can be admitted into a university that winter to get a jump on the freshman learning curve. A record 14 are projected to enroll for the second semester that begins Wednesday (Feb. 3) to bring the all-time total to 84.
• Quarterbacks Tyler Buchner and Ron Powlus III
• Receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr.
• Tight ends Cane Berrong and Mitchell Evans
• Offensive linemen Blake Fisher, Caleb Johnson and Rocco Spindler
• Defensive ends Devin Aupiu and Will Schweitzer
• Defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio
• Cornerbacks Philip Riley and Ryan Barnes
• Safety Justin Walters
Here is a thumbnail sketch of the freshman years of the first 70:
2006 (3): RB James Aldridge, OG Chris Stewart, WR George West
Knee problems limited Aldridge, who sat out five games and finished with 142 rushing yards.
West was active in the return game with 271 yards while also catching two passes for 14 yards and rushing for an 11-yard TD on his sole carry.
Upon arrival, Stewart reportedly was “two Big Macs short of 400 pounds,” so he redshirted.
2007 (3): RB Armando Allen, QB Jimmy Clausen, CB Gary Gray
Because of a depleted roster that included only 17 total scholarship players remaining from the 2004 and 2005 classes, Clausen and Allen were thrust into starting roles during a 3-9 campaign.
Clausen passed for 1,254 yards in nine starts (10 games overall), but also had minus-187 rushing yards while taking the brunt of an NCAA single-season record 58 sacks.
Allen’s 348 rushing yards were second most and he caught 24 passes for 124 yards.
Gray was medically redshirted because of a broken arm suffered in the spring.
2008 (2): DL Sean Cwynar, OG Trevor Robinson
One of the rare offensive linemen to play as a freshman, Robinson had three starts as a rookie.
Cwynar redshirted before later developing into a top substitute.
2009 (3): CB E.J. Banks, S Zeke Motta, DL Tyler Stockton
Banks and Stockton both redshirted, with Banks eventually transferring to Pitt.
Motta played all 12 games (6-6) on special teams for head coach Charlie Weis’ final team and was a hybrid safety/outside linebacker, recording 12 stops.
2010 (5): S Chris Badger, CB Spencer Boyd, WR TJ Jones, QB Tommy Rees, CB Lo Wood
Current Irish offensive coordinator Rees finished the spring third team, but helped salvage Notre Dame’s 4-5 beginning by going 4-0 in his starts to end the season.
Jones caught touchdowns in each of his first two games, started seven, and finished with 23 catches for 306 yards and three scores.
Boyd transferred to South Florida after his first spring, and Badger left for BYU after serving a two-year Mormon mission.
Wood redshirted and later used his fifth season at Miami (Ohio).
2011 (5): K/P Kyle Brindza, OL Brad Carrico, QB Everett Golson, DE Aaron Lynch, DE/OLB Ishaq Williams
Only the record-setting Brindza played at Notre Dame from start to finish.
Carrico arrived with a foot problem that ended his football career before it could get untracked.
The Floridian Lynch earned Freshman All-America honors, but was miserable in northern Indiana and transferred to South Florida the ensuing spring.
Golson’s roller-coaster career saw him redshirt as a freshman, start for the 12-1 team in 2012, serve an academic suspension in 2013, and return for an 8-5 campaign in 2014 before graduating and then using his fifth season at Florida State.
Williams, a five-star prospect like Lynch, was an outside linebacker in former coordinator Bob Diaco’s scheme, recording six tackles as a freshman. Academic matters sidelined him his last two seasons.
2012 (3): DL Sheldon Day, QB Gunner Kiel, CB Tee Shepard
On the 12-1 team, Day excelled off the bench and recorded 23 tackles, with sacks against Michigan State and Michigan.
Kiel redshirted before transferring to Cincinnati the following spring.
Shepard had to leave by his second month on campus because of academic reasons. He recently ran seriously afoul the law.
2013 (5): OL Steve Elmer, TE Mike Heuerman, WR/LB James Onwualu, WR Corey Robinson, QB Malik Zaire
Elmer and Robinson were roommates who both made the dean’s List in their first semester. Elmer started four games at offensive tackle (played in 10) after starter Christian Lombard was sidelined with an injury.
Robinson started three times as a freshman when his nine catches were good for 157 yards and a score. He was our Offensive Player of the Game when he caught three passes for 54 yards (and forced other pass interference calls) in a 17-13 victory versus a Michigan State team that finished 13-1.
In that same MSU game, Onwualu, a four-game starter (two catches for 34 yards), made a key block on the game-winning score. He transitioned to defense the next spring, where he would later became a team captain as an outside linebacker.
Zaire became the third straight early enrollee at QB to redshirt as a freshman.
Heuerman’s football career ended because of health setbacks.
2014 (2): WR Justin Brent, DE Andrew Trumbetti
Brent played sparingly as a freshman before shifting to running back in 2015 and redshirting. A foot injury sidelined him in 2016 and after earning his undergraduate degree he became a graduate transfer at the University of Nevada, where he had one reception in 2017 before moving to safety in 2018, recording 27 tackles and two interceptions.
Trumbetti finished with 22 tackles as a freshman (5.5 for lost yardage) in a backup role, earning his first start in the Music City Bowl win over LSU.
2015 (4): LB Te’von Coney, OL Tristen Hoge, DL Micah Dew-Treadway, DL Jerry Tillery
Tillery was a co-starter at nose guard with sophomore Daniel Cage after the August MCL injury to starter Jarron Jones. During the regular season, Tillery took 351 snaps (29 per game) and Cage 255 (about 21 per game), but the freshman, who recorded 12 tackles, was suspended for the Fiesta Bowl.
Coney also had 12 tackles, mainly on special teams while backing up Butkus Award winner Jaylon Smith.
Hoge and Dew-Treadway both redshirted, and Hoge transferred to BYU.
2016 (5): LB/DE Daelin Hayes, DE Khalid Kareem, S Spencer Perry, S Devin Studstill, WR Kevin Stepherson
When senior free safety Max Redfield was dismissed from the team in August, Studstill was forced into action. His 582 snaps were the third most in the secondary and seventh overall on defense, recording 38 tackles and an interception on a 4-8 team.
Stepherson played all 12 games, starting three and finishing third in receptions with 25 for 462 yards (18.5 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. Only Michael Floyd in 2008 caught more TD passes as an Irish freshman (seven).
Hayes (original commit to USC) appeared in all 12 games and recorded 155 snaps on defense, and fellow end Kareem (original commit to Alabama) totaled 15 snaps. Both would become captains.
Perry made an appearance in six games, mainly on special teams, but the next spring transferred to South Alabama.
2017 (5): OL Aaron Banks, OT Robert Hainsey, RB C.J. Holmes, S Isaiah Robertson, TE Brock Wright
Hainsey surprisingly became the co-starter at right tackle with sophomore Tommy Kraemer on a unit that would win the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s premier offensive line. Hainsey ended up with 455 snaps on offense to Kraemer’s 443, and would become a two-time captain.
Among Robertson’s 40 snaps on defense as a freshman, 37 came in the first six games. He played in 12 of the 13 contests, mostly on special teams, and was credited with eight stops. He moved to rover and receiver before becoming a graduate transfer.
Wright found a niche as a lead blocker in the traditional fullback set in short-yardage and goal-line situations — 30 snaps in 2017. He also blocked on the field goal and extra point teams.
Holmes had eight carries for 32 yards and started on three of the four special teams units in eight games. He was dismissed from the team that December, walked on at Penn State and is currently at Kent State.
Banks was the lone member of the 2017 quintet to redshirt before becoming a three-year starter and 2020 All-America left guard.
2018 (7): LB Matthew “Bo” Bauer, DB Houston Griffith, WR Micah Jones, LB Jack Lamb, LB Ovie Oghoufo, RB Jahmir Smith, TE George Takacs
Bauer and Griffith played while the other five preserved a year of eligibility, medically or otherwise.
Although he took only 19 snaps total on defense, Bauer became a regular on multiple special teams by the second game.
Griffith saw action in the opener versus Michigan and finished with 183 snaps on defense, mostly at nickel, before senior Nick Coleman took over late in the year.
Lamb, Oghoufo (Texas) and Smith are or were in the transfer portal.
2019 (10) P Jay Bramblett, OT Quinn Carroll, OC Zeke Correll, LB Jack Kiser, OT Andrew Kristofic, NT Jacob Lacey, OG John Olmstead, DE NaNa Osafo-Mensah, DT Hunter Spears, RB Kyren Williams
In the 27-man class, Bramblett had a quality debut, averaging 39.4 yards as the starting punter and with his hang time allowing only 70 yards in returns all year.
Nose tackle Lacey was in the defensive line rotation, appearing in 11 games and recording 14 tackles. Everyone else red-shirted, including Williams, who appeared in the first four games (four carries for 26 yards) before breaking out as a sophomore sensation in 2020. Spears was shifted to offense the following spring.
2020 (8) DE Jordan Botelho, WR Jay Brunelle, DE Alexander Ehrensberger, CB Ramon Henderson, DL Rylie Mills, CB Caleb Offord, QB Drew Pyne, WR Xavier Watts
Eight in the 17-man class enrolled early. Mills was the standout as a freshman while getting integrated into the rotation more as the season progressed, finishing with 141 snaps on defense and seven stops (two for loss).
Pyne took 25 snaps at quarterback for the second-most among the early entrants last year, while Botelho was a regular on special teams.
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