The 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish is bound to be electric. Every player on the field is worth watching, but these 10 are simply worth more.
Top Players To Watch in the 2025 National Championship
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
Jeremiah Smith is one of the best overall WRs we’ve ever seen and would easily be the WR1 in the 2025 and 2026 NFL Draft classes (he isn’t eligible until 2027).
Smith can win before the catch with his elite start/stop ability, decisive route running, and deceptive speed. He can win at the catch point with his body control, strong hands, and leaping prowess. And he can win after the catch with lateral agility, contact balance, and rapid acceleration.
What’s not to like?
Will Howard, QB, Ohio State
Has Will Howard been perfect this year? No, but he’s done enough to lead his team to the natty. Yes, his tape vs. Michigan can’t be overlooked, but neither should his sheer stockpile of NFL-level throws. Whether hole shots vs. Cover 2, posts vs. two-high looks, or downfield sideline dots against single-high, Howard has made the throws that translate to the pros.
Howard’s arm strength is a tad lackluster for his size (6’4″, 235), but it gets the job done more often than not. Paired with clean fundamentals and some mobility, Notre Dame’s going to have to play at their peak to slow down Howard and Ohio State’s offense.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
Speaking “slowing down” …
TreVeyon Henderson’s injury history could drop him lower than his talent warrants in the NFL Draft, but whoever selects him will get a steal. Stout pass blocker? Check. Home-run speed? Check. Agility and acceleration to obliterate pursuit? Quadruple check.
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He isn’t quite as decisive in zone schemes vs. man/gap, but when 100%, Henderson is a game-changer capable of flipping the field on any given touch.
Jack Sawyer, EDGE, Ohio State
Jack Sawyer has the power to manhandle offensive tackles as a pass rusher and run defender. His lack of pure speed and bend limit his pass-rush upside, but at the collegiate level, his raw strength is more than enough, and it’s especially handy when blowing up run plays.
Exhibit A: the Cotton Bowl vs. Texas. Sawyer’s fumble-six was all the rage, but he beat up on OT Cameron Williams all game, routinely working around the arc. With Notre Dame down a starter at left tackle (Anthonie Knapp), expect Sawyer to feast once again.
Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State
Caleb Downs stepped off the plane and immediately earned Alabama’s starting safety spot as a true freshman. He’s been even better for Ohio State.
The do-it-all safety churns downhill in run support and uses his physical gifts as a standout in coverage. A large reason for the unit’s resurgence following the Oregon loss was deploying Downs in a more versatile role closer to the line of scrimmage — that’s how impactful he can be.
Riley Leonard, QB, Notre Dame
The Daniel Jones comparison is tempting when watching Riley Leonard. They played in the same Duke Blue Devils uniform and have strikingly similar skill sets.
Leonard thrives in a quick-passing attack and combines that with legitimate mobility (track and basketball background) as both an improviser and a designed runner. Like Jones, Leonard struggles with downfield aggression and execution, partially due to an adequate-at-best arm.
He’s struggled when forced to throw from the pocket on a down-to-down basis, which is exactly what the Buckeyes will attempt to do. If Leonard can’t get going on the ground, the Irish QB could be in for a long game.
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
7.1.
That was Jeremiyah Love’s yards per carry average this season … on 159 carries.
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After seeing limited touches behind Audric Estime in 2023, Love took over the lead role, rushing for 1,121 yards and 17 scores. Leonard has eaten heavily into Love’s production, but it’s largely kept the RB fresh for back-breaking runs to the house.
A knee injury has nagged him throughout the playoff, but all he needs is one carry to alter the course of the natty.
Charles Jagusah, OL, Notre Dame
Notre Dame saw 2023 starting OTs Joe Alt (Round 1, Pick No. 5) and Blake Fisher (Round 2, Pick No. 27) selected in the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft. As a result, the program entered the offseason with two massive holes on their offensive line.
One of those holes turned into a crater when projected starting LT Charles Jagusah suffered a torn right pectoral in August. However, Jagusah was able to return for the postseason push and even played significant snaps in the Orange Bowl against Penn State after Rocco Spindler injured his ankle.
Head coach Marcus Freeman has already ruled Knapp out with his own ankle injury and suggested Jagusah could fill the role. If so, he’ll go up against Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau in his first snaps at tackle all season — that’s less than ideal, to say the least. How
Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame
When future 2025 NFL Draft pick and CB1 Benjamin Morrison went down with an injury, many were concerned about Notre Dame’s secondary. Fret not because 6’2″, 190-pound true freshman Leonard Moore has played lights out since stepping up.
Not only has he broken up 10 passes, intercepted two more, and forced two fumbles, highlighting his playmaking ability, but Moore has allowed just two catches over 20 yards all year.
Lining up across from Jeremiah Smith will be his toughest assignment yet, but how Moore performs will go a long way toward his future draft status — and Notre Dame’s chances of defeating the Buckeyes.
Xavier Watts, S, Notre Dame
Xavier Watts won the 2023 Nagurski Award winner, given to the nation’s best defender, after snagging an FBS-leading seven INTs and consistently making big plays when Notre Dame needed them.
It wasn’t a fluke, either, as Watts has recorded another six picks this year to go along with nine PBUs, one forced fumble, and 74 total tackles.
KEEP READING: Who Wins in This Ohio State vs. Notre Dame Prediction?
Watts has a knack for being where the football is, which could haunt Howard in the national championship. If Howard stares down a read, expect Watts to make him pay.
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