Notre Dame signees showed up and showed out at the All-American Bowl on January 11th. Let's take a look at how each participant performed.
Photo via Christopher Burgess Jr.
The All-American Bowl isn't unlike the many other "all-star" type games across the country. It's a much friendlier environment, and due to lack of chemistry and experience playing together, play-calling tends to be much more vanilla and simplified. That doesn't mean it's not a great chance for recruits to showcase some raw talent against the type of competition they will be seeing week in and week out for Saturdays to come. Notre Dame was represented well at the game, with five commits suiting up, four from the class of 2025, and one 2026 player as well. Notre Dame Head Coach, Marcus Freeman, was once an All-American Bowl participant himself in 2004. It is another data point to evaluate the next line of talent that will be hitting campus in South Bend, and after breaking down all of their reps, these are some things that stood out.
OT Will Black (2025)
The five-star offensive lineman played both right tackle and left tackle during the All-American Bowl. It may not seem like which side of the line you are on makes a huge difference, but it changes little details, like which leg you push off with on your kick step, and how you set up in pass protection. He seems more comfortable as an LT, but versatility will always be a good thing. During the game he showed great lateral movement as a puller, and worked up to the second level effectively. He displayed good use of hands and punch timing, and had the quickness to slide and cut off defenders on their inside moves. Good recovery speed, as even when an edge player got an initial step on him off the line of scrimmage, he was able to work back and push the defender wide of the quarterback.
Where he got beat a few times was on counter moves. He allowed his pad level to rise throughout the play which made it easier for the defender to get him off balance. Fellow Notre Dame commit, Christopher Burgess, lined up across from him on multiple plays and was able to set him up outside with a speed rush, get Black's feet crossed then work back inside on a swim move to get a hit on the quarterback. On the last drive, Black was moved back to right tackle where he gave up back to back pressures.
Black is one of my favorite prospects from the 2025 class, and as Notre Dame fans know all too well from this years postseason, you can never have enough talented linemen at your disposal.
EDGE Christopher Burgess Jr. (2025)
Burgess is another versatile player which the coaching staff at the All-American Bowl used in a variety of ways. He started the game as more of a 3-technique defensive tackle, but moved to defensive end late, and that's where he really shined. Showed great burst off the snap and does a good job converting speed to power. He displayed a good set of pass rushing maneuvers and kept his feet moving, showing he can counter when initially stopped. He already has a great frame, standing at 6'3" and 265 pounds, and will only get faster and stronger. As a glimpse into future Notre Dame practices, matched up with Will Black a couple of times and got the better of him, which is no easy task.
When he was used inside, he did get washed out of the run game somewhat. Struggled going against the big interior linemen, and did not play with as violent of hands as you would like to see. Came off the line a little high at times, and did not get into the linemen's chest before trying to work in spin moves, which left him exposed and easy to push out of his lane. On one rep followed a pulling guard while the run play was designed to go the opposite direction so needed to have better eye discipline there. Burgess Jr. has the makings of a disruptive force off the edge. I think similar to how Bryce Young has made an impact during his freshman season, Burgess Jr. is likely to see some playing time early in his career.
LB Anthony Sacca (2025)
Sacca was another future Golden Domer that made his presence felt during the game. He did an excellent job keying the run, coming downhill, and making plays. He excelled at leveraging the ball, attacking the outside shoulder of run blockers, and keeping his outside arm free to make a play. Racked up a tackle for loss, and was always around the ball.
He doesn't possess true sideline to sideline speed, and looked more like a traditional two down backer. He needed to do a little better job using his hands and disengaging from blocks on the second level. He was the MLB in a Cover 2 on a play that went for a touchdown. The touchdown was not his fault as the safety busted on his coverage and tried to jump something underneath allowing the WR to get behind the defense, but from a technique standpoint, I would have liked to see Sacca drop with a little more depth as the play progressed since there were no immediate underneath threats in his zone. That's the type of thing he will be coached up once he gets to Notre Dame, and is not a true area of concern.
Sacca looks like he will be the next tackling machine for Notre Dame. He has the makings of a certified run stuffer, with great instincts and a knack for taking the right angles.
TE James Flanigan (2025)
You can tell right away Flanigan takes pride in his ability to block from his tight end spot. On a big 4th and 2 late in the game, he did a great job of sealing his man off and giving his quarterback a chance. At another critical point in the game on another 4th down, Flanigan and Will Black perfectly worked a double team on Christopher Burgess Jr. (so much Notre Dame on one play) buying the QB enough time to deliver a perfect sideline shot for a touchdown, which was the biggest play for the offense at the time. Can be split out and play inline. Although he did not have any catches in the game, he showed enough speed to get vertical on a seam route that just wasn't delivered in his direction.
Did not get to see him run many routes during the game just due to play calling, but his blocking is the more advanced part of his game currently. Will need to continue to polish his route running to be a true dual threat tight end, and carry the torch of what has been a very storied tight end tradition at Notre Dame.
QB Noah Grubbs (2026)
The "young" guy of the bunch, Grubbs won't be joining Notre Dame for another year. He did not get a lot of opportunities during the game, but still a few things of note. When he was in, he was definitely the victim of some poor snaps by his center. The ball was not getting to him quick enough, which allowed the pressure to get to him before he really had a chance to survey the field. Still, he did a great job of moving up and out of the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. He showed excellent zip on an intermediate throw that probably would have been complete if the receiver did not stop his route short. His one deep shot was a little inaccurate and the ball sailed out of bounds, but even with that throw falling incomplete, he showed off some of his arm strength.
Quarterback will be a topic of conversation for the next few seasons, as Notre Dame looks to work away from the transfer portal and instead develop their own talent. Grubbs will fall in that mix the minute he shows up on campus, and I look forward to seeing what improvements he can make during his Senior season.
Even though transfer portal news gets majority of the headlines, the lifeblood of college football is and always will be recruiting. The ability to evaluate and develop talent will be the thing that separates the good teams from the great teams. The next infusion of talent for the blue and gold is on the way with the players mentioned above, and they will add to a team that is currently one win away from a National Championship. The future is as bright as it has ever been at South Bend.
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