I did a preseason edition of the top 25 players on the Notre Dame roster back in August. Not much has changed two months later at the midseason mark for the Fighting Irish especially in the top 3.
1. Julian Love, CB - Love is on everybody's midseason All-American team after leading the nation in pass breakups with 12. He's been the most consistent defender and even has a returned strip sack for a TD.
2. Jerry Tillery, DT - 7.5 sacks. Constant double teams freeing up the LBs and DEs to pressure the QB and make tackles in the backfield. Tillery has been everything we expected if not more.
3. Te'von Coney, LB - 56 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss. Coney's return for his senior season has been huge for ND and like Tillery both are playing themselves into first round NFL money.
4. Khalid Kareem, DE - I had Kareem at #15 on my preseason list so this is a big jump but not completely unexpected. The junior has been a terror off the edge all season both against the run and the pass.
5. Ian Book, QB - Book wasn't on my preseason list because Brandon Wimbush was the starter. Now one could make an argument Book is the most important player on this list after his stellar four game performance while leading the nation in completion percentage.
6. Drue Tranquill, LB - The senior captain is the steady soundboard for Clark Lea's defense. He makes every tackle and is a great example of knowing his role and excelling at it.
7. Julian Okwara, DE - I said before the season if ND was gonna have a great defense they needed guys like Okwara, Kareem and Hayes to step it up going into their junior seasons. Okwara like Kareem has done it. He's got 24 pressures and was unstoppable vs Pitt on the edge.
8. Miles Boykin, WR - Boykin was basically non existent with Wimbush at QB the first 3 games after his breakout performance in the bowl game vs LSU last year. With Book in there Boykin has become his favorite target and he's exploded for 32 catches for 512 yards and 4 TDs.
9. Alohi Gilman, S - The Navy transfer has been tremendous. He's let a few balls slip through his hands but he's gonna be a turnover, tackling machine in the 2nd half. The sky is the limit with Gilman.
10. Dexter Williams, RB - FREE DEX, FREE DEX, FREE DEX! After standing on the sidelines for the first 4 games because of a "suspension" Dexter finally got starting reps at tailback and has averaged over 100 yards per game with over 7 yards per carry. He's even picking up blocks now. It's great to have him back.
11. Robert Hainsey, OT
12. Chris Finke, WR
13. Troy Pride, CB
14. Chase Claypool, WR
15. Jalen Elliott, S
16. Daelin Hayes, DE
17. Sam Mustipher, OC
18. Asmar Bilal, LB
19. Tony Jones Jr., RB
20. Liam Eichenberg, OT
21. Justin Yoon, K
22. Brandon Wimbush, QB
23. Jafar Armstrong, RB
24. Alize Mack, TE
25. Tommy Kraemer, OG
Please note that Alex Bars didn't make the list because he's out for the season with his knee injury. If Bars was still playing he would be in the top 5 easy.
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