Sep. 1, 2007; South Bend, IN, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive back Tom Zbikowski (9) sings the Notre Dame Alma Mater with his teammates after the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets beat Notre Dame 33-3 at Notre Dame Stadium. Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame’s Top 25 Players of the Last 25 Years: Nos. 25–21 Revealed

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Jul 16, 2025 7:58 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:

25. Jeff Faine, 1999-2002, Center

With Zack Martin a likely first round pick, we #TBT to our last OL first rounder, Jeff Faine (No. 21 to CLE in 2003) pic.twitter.com/kqRmGS1d7A
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 3, 2014

Faine started every game at center for Notre Dame for three straight seasons, earning All-American status in 2002. He then became a first-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns. Shockingly, it would be a decade before another Notre Dame offensive lineman would go in the NFL draft's first round (Zack Martin, 2013).

24. Tom Zbikowski, 2003-2007, Safety/Punt Returner

A star high school quarterback at Buffalo Grove in Chicago's Northwest Suburbs, Zbikowski chose to attend Notre Dame and play defensive back. He was a two-time third-team All-American during his time with the Irish and had an all-time flare for the dramatics, including his punt return for a touchdown against USC in the famed "Bush Push" game.

23. Jeremiyah Love, 2023-Current, Running Back

Love has the misfortune of having only one real season in the window, which keeps him relatively low. Pound for pound, he's as good as any player on this list and was the most electric offensive player on a team that made it to the national championship round in 2024.

22. Harrison Smith, 2007-2011, Safety

Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

Smith saw playing time immediately as a freshman at Notre Dame, and by the time his college career was done, he had become a star. Smith intercepted seven passes for the Irish in 2010 and was a first-round draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, before putting together what is a Hall of Fame-worthy career.