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Michael Clubb, USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame Impact Players For 2025: No. 32 Safety Luke Talich

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Trevor Trowbridge | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Notre Dame is now 32 days away from kicking off the 2025 season against the Miami Hurricanes down in Hard Rock Stadium. The Irish will be relying on some impact players to get them through the home opener as well as getting them back to another run at the National Championship. I broke down who I believe will be the top 50 impactful players for Notre Dame this season. Let’s continue this countdown to kickoff with my No. 32 most impactful player, junior safety Luke Talich.

This is a big year for the Cody, Wyoming native; he has the opportunity to battle for a starting position alongside Adon Shuler on the back end of Notre Dame's defense. For the first two seasons in South Bend, Talich has been a special teams phenom. Now, he gets his opportunity to battle for a spot in the starting lineup this fall camp. It'll be a steep competition from now until August 31, but his time with the program combined with his physical tools give him an edge to be one of Mike Mickens best safeties this season.

What He Brings To The Table

The first thing that catches your eye when you look at the Notre Dame roster is his size. Their safety room may be the tallest in college football with Talich standing at 6-4 and true freshman JaDon Blair standing at 6-5. Last season, the 6-4 209 pound safety played in nine games and was highlighted by a 79 yard interception returned for a touchdown. Talich is a rangy safety that has done some of his best work in the alley and around the line of scrimmage. This past spring game, he led the team with nine total tackles and 1.0 tackle for a loss.

Where he will need to make the biggest jump in fall camp is his coverage ability. Mickens puts a lot of responsibility on the plate of his safeties; Talich will have to answer the bell during camp. He's more than capable of being an extremely effective coverage man on the back end of this defense. His size, speed and length give him the tools to be a really good player on the back end. This isn't a question about his capabilities in coverage. Talich will have to play free and not be afraid to make some mistakes as he grows into an all-around safety. The physical tools take care of themselves, now its about going out, battling for a starting spot and solidifying himself near the top of the safety rotation.

What Is His Impact?

The pecking order at safety has yet to be determined, but with fall camp beginning tomorrow, I don't think we'll have to wait much longer to get that figured out. Like the other safeties in the room, at the bare minimum, Talich provides immediate depth and the most on the field playing experience at safety outside of Shuler and Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman. Blair and redshirt freshman Tae Johnson have yet to play a meaningful snap on defense for Notre Dame.

Talich is also one of their best players on special teams. It's not very common to talk about a safety who is entering their true junior season without a redshirt like Talich. It's a testament to how impactful he's been on special teams. His highlight reel hit in the Orange Bowl on punt coverage was one of the more memorable plays from the 2024 season, which says a lot.

This is a very important stretch of football for Talich. He's entering his junior season and has yet to play a lot of meaningful snaps on defense for the Irish. The opportunity is in front of him to push for a starting role on defense, and his impact on special teams will continue to be felt. His size, length, speed and time with the program paired with his impact on special teams is what makes Talich my No. 32 most impactful player for Notre Dame in 2025.