Notre Dame’s captaincy picture keeps widening, and 2026 adds another layer.
When the Irish open on Labor Day Sunday, CJ Carr will be one of four captains alongside wide receiver Jordan Faison and returning leaders Drayk Bowen, a linebacker, and Adon Shuler, a safety. That group fits a long-running Notre Dame pattern: the program has now had 29 players serve as multiple-year captains, and 17 of them have come since 2000.
Bowen and Shuler both moved into the role after being elevated last year, joining a list that stretches from three-time captain Jack Mullen in 1897-99 to a modern run that includes names like Brady Quinn, Zack Martin, Ian Book, Robert Hainsey and JD Bertrand.
The Irish have leaned heavily on all three levels of the roster when picking captains in the 21st century. Since 2000, Notre Dame has named 51 offensive captains, 57 defensive captains and three special teams captains.
Four captains has been the standard look, and it has shown up in 13 of the 27 seasons in the century. The program has also had one-captain seasons, two-captain seasons, three-captain seasons, five-captain seasons, six-captain seasons and even a seven-captain year in 2019.
On offense, the captaincy has spread across the board. The 51 offensive captains include eight quarterbacks, six running backs, 12 wide receivers, five tight ends and 20 offensive linemen.
The quarterback group is small, but it is loaded with big names: Tom Clements, Joe Montana, Tony Rice, Rick Mirer, Ron Powlus, Jarious Jackson, Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen all wore the captain tag. Quinn and Ian Book were each captains twice, while the more recent quarterback names on the list include Sam Hartman, Riley Leonard and Carr.
Notre Dame’s wideout captains have included David Givens, Arnaz Battle, Omar Jenkins, Carlyle Holiday, David Grimes, TJ Jones, Torii Hunter Jr., Chris Finke, Avery Davis twice, Will Pauling and Jordan Faison. At running back, the list runs from Ryan Grant and Travis Thomas to Cam McDaniel, Josh Adams and Kyren Williams. Tight end captains have been Dan O’Leary, Jabari Holloway, John Carlson, Tyler Eifert and Michael Mayer.
The offensive line has been the most frequent home for captaincy on that side of the ball. Along with the Martin brothers, Robert Hainsey, Jarrett Patterson and Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame has also had Sean Mahan, Jim Molinaro, John Sullivan, Eric Olsen, Quenton Nelson, Alex Bars, Sam Mustipher, Joe Alt, Billy Schrauth and Aamil Wagner serve in the role.
Defensively, the breakdown is nearly even. Of the 57 defensive captains since 2000, 20 have been linebackers, 19 have been defensive backs and 18 have been defensive linemen. The linebacker group includes Anthony Denman, Rocky Boiman, Mike Goolsby, Brandon Hoyte, Maurice Crum Jr., Manti Te’o, Jaylen Smith, Joe Schmidt, James Onwualu, Greer Martini, Nyles Morgan, Drue Tranquill, Drew White, Bo Bauer, Bertrand, Jack Kiser and Bowen.
The defensive back list features Gerome Sapp, Shane Walton, Vontez Duff, Tom Zbikowski, David Bruton, Kyle McCarthy, Harrison Smith, Bennett Jackson, Austin Collinsworth, Matthias Farley, Jalen Elliott, Alohi Gilman, Shawn Crawford, Kyle Hamilton, Cam Hart, Xavier Watts and Shuler.
Up front, the defensive line captains have included Grant Irons, Anthony Weaver, Darrell Campbell, Justin Tuck, Kapron Lewis-Moore, Sheldon Day, Isaac Rochell, Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara, Daelin Hayes, Ade Ogundeji, Kurt Hinish, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, Isaiah Foskey, Rylie Mills and Donovan Hinish.
Notre Dame has also used special teams as a captaincy lane three times: Scott Smith in 2009, Austin Webster in 2017 and punter Tyler Newsome in 2018. Webster remains the only walk-on ever named captain for the Irish.
There is also a small group of walk-ons who were on scholarship when they were named captains: Shane Walton, Joe Schmidt, Austin Webster, Chris Finke and Faison.
Carr’s selection stands out for another reason. He is Notre Dame’s first high-school-recruited quarterback to be named captain since Ian Book, with Sam Hartman and Riley Leonard earning the distinction without having taken a live snap in an Irish uniform.
This also marks the first time since the 2022 season that Notre Dame does not have a captain who transferred into the program. Hartman in 2023, Leonard in 2024 and Will Pauling in 2025 had started that stretch.
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Freeman said nine players drew meaningful support, which created more candidates than the team ultimately wanted to carry into the season. Rather than stretching the role too thin, Notre Dame kept the group at four for the third time in five years, a sign that the rosters leadership is spread deeper than usual even if only a few players will wear the title. [Read more 🡒]