Notre Dame Impact Players For 2025: No. 45 James Flanigan originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Notre Dame is now 44 days away from kicking off the 2025 season against the 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. 44 most impactful player, linebacker Preston Zinter.
The Fighting Irish linebacking corps is loaded with talent ahead of this season. Outside of former Notre Dame captain Jack Kiser who is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the entire 2024 linebacking room remained intact. That includes Zinter, the Massachusetts native who is heading into his redshirt sophomore season. He hasn’t made quite the splash on the field he projected to have coming out of high school, but he will have his opportunity this fall in some unique situations.
What He Brings To The Table
Zinter is a very athletic player who has good length and good speed. He has shown his ability to be a versatile player and is already making a name for himself on special teams. The question is, can Zinter break into the linebacker rotation this season for Notre Dame? It won’t be easy; the rotation currently consists ofjunior Drayk Bowen, redshirt junior Jaylen Sneed, redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry and sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa.
At 6-2 and 236 pounds, he’s one of the bigger linebackers in the group and has flashed his potential in various spring games and practice scrimmages. Last season he played in five games on defense and started every game on special teams, mostly on kick off coverage. This past spring, he showcased his abilities as an edge rusher generating a couple pressures and a sack on the quarterback in the Blue Gold game. Zinter could be the next linebacker in the rotation to become that niche edge rusher on third down.
What Is His Impact?
It’s unclear what the Chris Ash defense will look like schematically this upcoming season, but the defensive coaching staff has been transparent this offseason around the continuity in the look and identity of this group. That means we will likely see another linebacker step into a pass rushing role on down and distance situations. In previous seasons, Sneed or Viliamu-Asa last season, took on that role. However, this year, they are both projected to be ‘every down linebackers’. Who will step into the role as the primary pass rusher on third down?
In the Blue Gold game, we saw Zinter get his opportunity in that role and exceed expectations. He generated a big pressure in the red zone and also recorded a sack ending the hopes of a promising touchdown drive. I don’t know if that will become a staple of the Ash defensive scheme, but what the spring game provided was a deeper look into Zinter’s diverse skillset. At the bare minimum, he’s going to be a special teams demon, and play a Bo Bauer type of role for Marty Biagi’s unit. His ceiling as a pass rusher and rotational piece in this defense is what makes Zinter my No. 44 impact player for Notre Dame in 2025.
PAST TOP 50 BREAKDOWNS
No. 45 – James Flanigan
No. 46 – Noah Burnette
No. 47 – Guerby Lambert
No. 48 – Sullivan Absher
No. 49 – Jordan Botelho
No. 50 – Charles Jagusah
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
