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Oct 28, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish offensive lineman Joe Alt (76) leaves the field following the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Notre Dame Stadium. Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame’s Top 25 Players of the Last 25 Years: Nos. 15-11 Revealed

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 8:02 PM ET

A quarter of the way through the century, Notre Dame football has had some extreme highs and lows. The Fighting Irish are looking to build on a national championship appearance last season and look to put an end to the national title drought that has eluded the program since 1988 in the coming years.

With a quarter-century down and a new one beginning this season, the idea was presented to rank Notre Dame's top 25 players since the year 2000.

I will say, there are arguments to be had all over this list. The competitors to get into the top 25 leave significant talent on the outside looking in, while some ranked in the teens have cases to be as high as 10 spots higher.

With that in mind, here is how the rankings of those wound up:

In Case You Missed It:

Spots 25-21

Spots 20-16

15. Julian Love, Defensive Back, 2016-2018

Love wasted no time getting on the field at Notre Dame, and despite team struggles in the 2016 season, was a playmaker from go. Love had five interceptions during his Notre Dame career, returning two for touchdowns, and returned a fumble for a score as well. Love was named a Consensus All-American for the 2018 season.

14. Michael Floyd, 2008-2011, Wide Receiver

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Floyd twice went over the 1,000 receiving yards mark at Notre Dame, and totaled a program record 3,686 for his career. The former five-star recruit from Minneapolis lived up to the billing, scoring 37 touchdowns in blue and gold before becoming a first round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals.

13. Justin Tuck, 2001-2004, Defensive End

RVR Photos-Imagn Images

Before helping the New York Giants to a pair of Super Bowl titles, Justin Tuck was busy setting the then-Notre Dame sacks record, despite tearing his ACL in the 2003 season finale. Tuck's best season came in that otherwise forgettable 2003 campaign for Notre Dame, but he was instrumental in the Fighting Irish upset of No. 7 Michigan that year. Had he not had the knee injury, he'd have been higher on this list, and certainly would have recorded even more sacks, perhaps enough to keep Isaiah Foskey from eventually breaking it.

12. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, 2017-2020, Linebacker

Few linebackers from Notre Dame have ever come close to hitting as hard as Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who was a do-everything backer for the Fighting Irish. When he needed to get after the quarterback he could, when he had to stop the run he was more than able, and he was great dropping into coverage. Owusu-Koramoah is one of three Notre Dame players to win the Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker, and the other two are still to come on this list.

11. Joe Alt, 2021-2023, Offensive Line

Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Alt went from being a high school tight end to Notre Dame starting lineman in just a year. His performance in the second half of the 2021 season showed that even by Notre Dame standards, Alt was a special offensive tackle. He'd start 33 consecutive games for the Irish, earning unanimous First-Team All-American honors before becoming a top five pick of the Los Angeles Chargers.

In Case You Are Looking For:

Spots 25-21

Spots 20-16

Spots 15-11

Spots 10-6

Spots 5-1