Sports

Who are the NFL’s top players 25 and under? How execs, coaches rank Stroud, Jefferson and others

Published

2 years ago

August 15, 2024

Who are the NFL’s top players 25 and under? How execs, coaches rank Stroud, Jefferson and others

As another NFL season nears its kickoff, the league’s best young players are working hard to continue their ascents. Some are already among the NFL’s elite. Others have exhibited promise and appear destined for stardom.

So, who are the NFL’s top 25 players who are 25 and younger? We reached out to 12 league front-office members, coaches or scouts for their thoughts, and they were granted anonymity so they could speak freely about the players. The participants were given a list of 35 potential players for inclusion and asked for feedback on where each might rank. Any player who met our age qualification and had earned All-Rookie, All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors was included for consideration.

Players had to be 25 or younger as of Week 1 of the 2024 NFL regular season. That criteria eliminated some talented young stars, including quarterbacks Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts, who both made this team last year but turned 26 in recent months.

Competition was thick, as every talent evaluator views players differently. But we narrowed it down to this robust group of players who have already established themselves as the game’s best, or are the closest to this accolade.

We also assembled an All-25-and-Under team, since the overall top 25 didn’t include a player at every position. You can find the All-25-and-Under team below as well.

Top 25

1. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings. Age: 25 (DOB: 6/16/99)

A hamstring injury caused him to miss seven games last year, and Jefferson still posted the fourth 1,000-yard season of his career. That helped him earn a four-year, $140 million deal from the Vikings this summer, which made him the highest-paid wideout in the league. Jefferson was No. 1 on the 25-and-under list last year as well.

2. Micah Parsons, LB/DE, Dallas Cowboys. Age: 25 (5/26/99)

The unstoppable Parsons last season recorded a career-high 14 sacks. That brought him up to 40 1/2 for his career, and put him in elite company: Reggie White, Derrick Thomas, Aldon Smith and Dwight Freeney are the only other players in NFL history to tally 40 sacks in their first three NFL seasons. Parsons was No. 2 on last year’s 25-and-under list but, like Jefferson, he will age out next year.

3. Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals. Age: 24 (3/1/00)

Despite Joe Burrow’s injury-shortened 2023, Chase still delivered his third consecutive 1,000-yard season. He and Jefferson belong to an extremely exclusive club of game-changing wide receivers.

4. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys. Age: 25 (4/8/99)

Lamb led the NFL with 135 catches while recording a career-best 1,749 yards last season, helping him earn first-team All-Pro honors for the first time in his four-year career.

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5. Pat Surtain II, CB, Denver Broncos. Age: 24 (4/14/00)

Three straight seasons of 10-plus passes defended and two Pro Bowl appearances top Surtain’s resume. He is the definition of a shutdown corner.

6. Penei Sewell, RT, Detroit Lions. Age: 23 (10/9/00)

A true franchise cornerstone and catalyst for Detroit’s turnaround, Sewell garnered first-team All-Pro honors last season. He also appeared in his second Pro Bowl, and this offseason signed a four-year, $112 million contract extension.

7. Tristan Wirfs, LT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Age: 25 (1/24/99)

Wirfs was asked last season to move from right tackle to left. He did so without batting an eye, and delivered the same elite-level production protecting Baker Mayfield’s blindside as he did while blocking for Tom Brady on the right. Tampa Bay rewarded Wirfs this offseason with a five-year, $140.6 million contract, making him the highest-paid offensive lineman in the game.

8. C.J. Stroud, QB, Houston Texans. Age: 22 (10/3/01)

The reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud took the league by storm in 2023. He not only rewrote the rookie record books, he also ranked among the league leaders in passing yards, passer rating and completion percentage while directing a surprising playoff run.

9. Kyle Hamilton, S, Baltimore Ravens. Age: 23 (3/16/01)

A first-team All-Pro in only his second season in the league, Hamilton is a difference-maker whether in pass coverage, lining up in the box or rushing the passer. He had 81 tackles, three sacks and four interceptions last season.

10. Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions. Age: 24 (10/24/99)

As a third-year pro, St. Brown racked up career highs in catches (119), yards (1,515) and touchdowns (10). That helped him earn Pro Bowl honors for a second straight season and All-Pro status for the first time. He enters Year 4 on a mission to join Jefferson, Chase and Lamb as one of the truly elite wideouts in the game.

Jordan Love led Green Bay to a 9-8 regular-season record and a playoff win in his first year as starter. (Ken Blaze / USA Today)

11. Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers. Age: 25 (11/2/98)

Love went on a tear to close out his first season as a starter and propelled the Packers into the playoffs, where they upset the Cowboys in the wild-card round, then suffered a narrow 24-21 loss to the 49ers in the divisional round. Love (4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions) appears poised to take another massive leap forward in 2024.

12. Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers. Age: 24 (12/27/99)

Purdy is 17-4 as a regular-season starter and 4-2 in the postseason, where he has appeared in the NFC Championship Game twice. The 49ers pushed the Chiefs to overtime in February’s Super Bowl before losing 25-22. Last season, Purdy carved up defenses for 31 touchdowns.

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13. Sauce Gardner, CB, New York Jets. Age: 23 (8/31/00)

Some critics question Gardner’s chops because the Jets play zone coverage so often. But Gardner is still a fantastic cover man, with 31 pass breakups (20 as a rookie) the last two seasons combined. He has earned Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro honors in each of his first two NFL seasons.

14. Aidan Hutchinson, DE, Detroit Lions. Age: 24 (8/9/00)

Hutchinson followed up a solid rookie season with a Pro Bowl campaign that featured 11 1/2 sacks and 33 quarterback hits. Hutchinson also recorded a combined three sacks in three Lions playoff games last season. Look for another leap forward in Year 3 as the Lions aim to make another deep playoff run.

15. Trent McDuffie, CB, Kansas City Chiefs. Age: 23 (9/13/00)

The versatile young corner is already one of the best at his position after just two seasons. Last season, in addition to his prowess in pass coverage, the All-Pro recorded five forced fumbles, three sacks, nine quarterback hits and three tackles for loss.

16. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins. Age: 25 (11/25/98)

Despite his pairing with the prolific Tyreek Hill, Waddle has recorded 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three seasons in the league. If not for injury, which limited him to 14 games last season, Waddle likely would have topped the 1,356 yards he recorded in 2022.

17. Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars. Age: 24 (10/6/99)

The first pick of the 2021 draft reached his first Pro Bowl in 2022, then regressed slightly as Jacksonville went 9-8 and missed the playoffs. But Lawrence has all of the tools necessary to continue to ascend and should capitalize on another offseason and year under head coach Doug Pederson.

Sam LaPorta broke rookie tight end records after the Lions made him the 34th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. (Lon Horwedel / USA Today)

18. Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions. Age: 23 (1/12/01)

Talk about an immediate impact — LaPorta, drafted in the second round, posted one of the best seasons for a rookie tight end in NFL history with his 86 catches, 889 yards and 10 touchdowns.

19. Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions. Age: 22 (3/20/22)

The Lions’ other instant-impact star, Gibbs started just three games in 2023 but still rushed for 945 yards and 10 touchdowns and also caught 52 passes for 316 yards and a touchdown en route to Pro Bowl honors. We’ll have to watch the hamstring injury he suffered in practice on Monday.

20. Jalen Carter, DT, Philadelphia Eagles. Age: 23 (4/4/01)

Carter made a seamless transition from the University of Georgia to the NFL, accumulating six sacks and 33 tackles (eight for loss) while serving as a rotational player. With Fletcher Cox retired, the Eagles will lean heavily on Carter and Jordan Davis to anchor their defensive line this season.

21. Garrett Wilson, WR, New York Jets. Age: 24 (7/22/00)

Wilson owns a pair of 1,000-yard seasons despite the Jets’ well-documented quarterback woes, so what might he accomplish with a healthy Aaron Rodgers throwing to him? The Jets hope to quickly find out. Talent evaluators around the league predict Wilson will make another big leap forward in 2024 and join the ranks of the elite young wide receivers.

22. Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons. Age: 22 (1/30/02)

After just one season, Robinson looks like one of the most well-rounded backs in the league. He rushed for 976 yards and four touchdowns and added 58 catches for 487 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.

23. Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams. Age: 23 (5/29/01)

The 2023 fifth-round pick may have been the steal of the draft. All he did was shatter the rookie record books with 105 catches for 1,486 yards and six touchdowns while helping the Rams go 10-7 and return to the playoffs after 2022’s losing campaign.

24. Creed Humphrey, C, Kansas City Chiefs. Age: 25 (6/28/99)

One of the toughest and smartest young interior linemen in the NFL, Humphrey has never missed a game in three seasons with the Chiefs and has garnered Pro Bowl honors in each of the last two campaigns (both of which ended with Super Bowl victories).

25. Will Anderson Jr., DE, Houston Texans. Age: 22 (9/2/01)

The Alabama product recorded seven sacks, 22 quarterback hits and 45 tackles last season as the tone-setter for Houston’s defense, and he earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl honors.

All-25-and-Under Team

QB: C.J. Stroud

Stroud was one of the most effective passers in the league regardless of experience last season, executing with a level of precision and poise that stunned the NFL. Now, thanks to the Texans’ additions of wide receiver Stefon Diggs and running back Joe Mixon, Stroud could take another step forward. He obviously faced stiff competition for the top QB spot here. Love must show he can play at a high level for an entire season, but he also seems poised for another leap forward. And though Purdy is as steady as they come, Stroud has a few more tricks in his bag.

RB: Jahmyr Gibbs

The electrifying Gibbs delivered 1,261 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns for the Lions, despite sharing the backfield with David Montgomery. Robinson also put up great numbers but did so with more touches than Gibbs. What will Year 2 hold for these two rising stars?

WRs: Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb

It’s tough to keep St. Brown off, but Jefferson, Chase and Lamb truly are the cream of the crop at wide receiver.

TE: Sam LaPorta

It’s scary to consider just how high LaPorta’s ceiling is based on the instant impact he had on the Lions.

Offensive line: LT Tristan Wirfs, LG Tyler Smith, C Creed Humphrey, RG O’Cyrus Torrence, RT Penei Sewell

Wirfs and Sewell are already among the best at their positions, as is Humphrey. The 23-year-old Smith turned into a Pro Bowl left guard for Carolina last season after beginning his career as a tackle. Buffalo’s Torrence (age 24) stepped right in as a rookie last season and played like a seasoned vet.

Texans linebacker Will Anderson Jr. won Defensive Rookie of the Year last season. (Troy Taormina / USA Today)

Defensive ends: Will Anderson Jr. and Aidan Hutchinson

These two are on their way to joining the ranks of the league’s elite edge rushers.

Defensive tackles: Jalen Carter and Kobie Turner

Big, powerful, athletic and well-rounded, Carter and Turner make their presences felt against the run and the pass. The Rams’ Turner turned 25 in April.

Linebackers: Micah Parsons and Quay Walker

Dallas’ Parsons terrorizes offensive linemen and quarterbacks regardless of where he lines up. Green Bay’s Walker, 23, has great range and makes plays all over the field. Walker has 239 tackles (12 for loss), nine quarterback hits, 10 pass deflections, three forced fumbles and an interception in two seasons.

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CB/DBs: Pat Surtain II, Sauce Gardner, Trent McDuffie

Good luck against this trio of crafty cover guys, who already are among the best in the league despite their youth.

Safeties: Kyle Hamilton and Jevon Holland

Hamilton is already a star, and if the Dolphins’ Holland (age 24) can capitalize on a full season of health, he won’t be too far behind his Ravens counterpart.

Specialists: K Cameron Dicker, P Ryan Stonehouse, KR/PR Marvin Mims

The Chargers’ Dicker, at 24, is among the most accurate kickers in the league. The Titans’ Stonehouse (age 25) is already one of the NFL’s best punters. The 22-year-old Mims shined as a rookie kick and punt returner last season for the Broncos.

(Top illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic. Photos of Justin Jefferson, C.J. Stroud and Puka Nacua: Stephen Maturen, Michael Owens, Ric Tapia / Getty Images)

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Sports

Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

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Law firm fighting for women’s sports in SCOTUS battle comments on ruling possibly impacting SJSU trans lawsuit

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A law firm leading the charge in the ongoing Supreme Court case over trans athletes in women’s sports has responded after a federal judge suggested the case’s ruling could impact a separate case involving a similar issue.

Colorado District Judge Kato Crews deferred ruling in motions to dismiss former San Jose State volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser’s lawsuit against the California State University (CSU) system until after a ruling in the B.P.J. v. West Virginia Supreme Court case, which is expected to come in June.

Slusser filed the lawsuit against representatives of her school and the Mountain West Conference in fall 2024 after she allegedly was made to share bedrooms and changing spaces with trans teammate Blaire Fleming for a whole season without being informed that Fleming is a biological male.

Meanwhile, the B.P.J. case went to the Supreme Court after a trans teen sued West Virginia to block the state’s law that prevents males from competing in girls’ high school sports.

The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is the primary law firm defending West Virginia in that case at the Supreme Court, and has now responded to news that Slusser’s lawsuit could be affected by the SCOTUS ruling.

“We hope the ruling from the Supreme Court will affirm that Title IX was designed to guarantee equal opportunity for women, not to let male athletes displace women and girl in competition. It is crucial that sports be separated by sex for not only the equal opportunity of women but for safety and privacy. Title IX should protect women’s right to compete in their own sports. Allowing men to compete in the female category reverses 50 years of advancement for women,” ADF Vice President of Litigation Strategies Jonathan Scruggs said.

Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, expects a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the legal defense representing West Virginia, thus helping his case.

(Left) Brooke Slusser (10) of the San Jose State Spartans serves the ball during the first set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2024. (Right) Blaire Fleming #3 of the San Jose State Spartans looks on during the third set against the Air Force Falcons at Falcon Court at East Gym on October 19, 2024 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ( Andrew Wevers/Getty Images; Andrew Wevers/Getty Images)

“We’re looking forward to the case going forward,” Bock told Fox News Digital.

“I believe that the court is going to find that Title IX operates on the basis of biological sex, without regard to an assumed or professed gender, and so just like the congress and the members of congress that passed Title IX in 1972, allowed this specifically provided for in the regulations that there had to be separate men’s and women’s teams based on biological sex, I think the court is going to see that is the original meaning of the statute and apply it in that way, and I think it’s going to be a big win in women’s sports.”

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared prepared to rule in favor of West Virginia after oral arguments on Jan. 13.

Slusser spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court on Jan. 13 while oral arguments took place inside, sharing her experience with a divided crowd of opposing protesters.

With Fleming on its roster, SJSU reached the 2024 conference final by virtue of a forfeit by Boise State in the semifinal round. SJSU lost in the final to Colorado State.

Slusser went on to develop an eating disorder due to the anxiety and trauma from the scandal and dropped out of her classes the following semester. The eating disorder became so severe, that Slusser said she lost her menstrual cycle for nine months. Her decision to drop her classes resulted in the loss of her scholarship, and her parents said they had to foot the bill out of pocket for an unfinished final semester of college.

President Donald Trump’s Department of Education determined in January that SJSU violated Title IX in its handling of the situation involving Fleming, and has given the university an ultimatum to agree to a series of resolutions or face a referral to the Department of Justice.

Among the department’s findings, it determined that a female athlete discovered that the trans student allegedly conspired to have a member of an opposing team spike her in the face during a match. ED claims that “SJSU did not investigate the conspiracy, but later subjected the female athlete to a Title IX complaint for ‘misgendering’ the male athlete in online videos and interviews.”

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SJSU trans player Blaire Fleming and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)

SJSU Athletic Director Jeff Konya told Fox News Digital in a July interview that he was satisfied with how the university handled the situation involving Fleming.

“I think everybody acted in the best possible way they could, given the circumstances,” Konya said.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.

Sports

Myles Garrett cited for speeding a ninth time, an elite pass rusher seemingly always in a rush

Published

4 hours ago

March 5, 2026

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Myles Garrett cited for speeding a ninth time, an elite pass rusher seemingly always in a rush

Myles Garrett is in a hurry to become the greatest pass rusher in NFL history. The Cleveland Browns All-Pro defensive end set the single-season sack record in 2025 and has cracked the top 20 career leaders after only nine seasons.

“I’m going to take that down, and I prefer I take it down in the next five years,” Garrett told Casino Guru News last month.

Off the field, however, his urgency to get from point A to B is a problem. He’s accumulating speeding tickets at an alarming rate.

On Feb. 21, Garrett was handed his ninth speeding ticket since his NFL career began in 2017. He was cited for driving 94 mph in a 70-mph zone on Interstate 71 between Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

The citation from the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office says Garrett was driving his green 2024 Porsche at 1:35 a.m., returning home after attending a Miami of Ohio basketball game in Oxford.

Body cam footage shows the officer telling Garrett that she kept the charge under 100 mph so that a court appearance wouldn’t be mandatory. Garrett reportedly still holds a Texas driver’s license — he attended Texas A&M — and told the officer that he did not have an Ohio license.

Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett wears a jacket displaying his girlfriend Chloe Kim before the women’s snowboarding halfpipe finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy.

(Lindsey Wasson / AP)

The officer wrote that the famously affable Garrett was “kind and cooperative,” and that drugs and alcohol were not a factor.

Garrett’s need for speed flies in the face of his persona. He has written poetry since high school, peppers social media with inspirational sayings and donates time and money to several charities.

His girlfriend is two-time gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic snowboarder Chloe Kim, for whom he wrote a poem he shared on social media: “You enrapture fools to kings, and exist without a peer, put on this Earth for many things, but our love is why you’re here.”

Verse hasn’t slowed his roll. On Aug. 9 he was cited for ticket No. 8, clocked at 100 mph in a 60-mph zone in a Cleveland suburb a day after the Browns returned home from a preseason game at Carolina.

Garrett’s seventh ticket followed a frightening crash in 2022. He flipped his gray 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S off State Road in Sharon Township and he and a female passenger were injured. He was cited for failing to control his vehicle due to unsafe speeds on what had been a slick roadway.

A witness told a responding police officer that Garrett’s vehicle went airborne, took out a fire hydrant and rolled three times. Garrett sustained shoulder and biceps sprains and was sidelined for the Browns’ game that week against the Atlanta Falcons. His companion was not seriously injured.

Cleveland television station WKYC reported that in September 2021 Garrett was stopped twice in a 24-hour period — for driving 120 and 105 mph. The infractions occurred on Interstate 71 in Medina County, where the speed limit is 70 mph, and he paid fines of $267 and $287.

A year earlier, Garrett was cited for driving 100 mph in a 65-mph zone of Interstate 77 — again while driving a Porsche — and paid a $308 fine. He accumulated his first batch of speeding tickets in 2017 and 2018, and the police reports recite similar circumstances: Garrett driving well over the speed limit, cited without incident, paid a nominal fine.

The piddly fines certainly aren’t a deterrent. Garrett, 30, and the Browns agreed to a four-year contract extension in March 2025 that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history at the time. The deal pays the seven-time All-Pro more than $40 million a season and includes more than $123 million in guaranteed money.

He set the NFL single-season sack record with 23.0 last season, surpassing the 22.5 accumulated by T.J. Watt and Michael Strahan. Garrett has 125.5 career sacks, averaging 14 a season, a pace that would enable him to break Bruce Smith’s career record of 200 in five years.

“That is definitely on my mind to go out there and get,” Garrett said. “That’s a goal I’ve had for years now since college.”

Garrett has declined to discuss his driving habits.

“I’d honestly prefer to talk about football and this team than anything I’m doing off the field other than the back-to-school event that I did the other day,” he told reporters after ticket No. 8 in August, referring to a charity appearance.

“I try to keep my personal life personal. And I’d rather focus on this team when I can.”

Sports

Keith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death

Published

15 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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Keith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death

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Former ESPN broadcaster Keith Olbermann once again incited backlash on social media Wednesday after he called late legendary college football coach Lou Holtz a “legendary scumbag” in an X post on the day Holtz was announced dead.

“Legendary scumbag, yes,” Olbermann wrote in response to a clip of Holtz criticizing former President Joe Biden in 2020 for supporting abortion rights.

Olbermann received scathing criticism in response to his post on X.

“You’re a scumbag that needs mental help,” one X user wrote to Olbermann.

One user echoed that sentiment, writing to Olbermann, “You’re the real scumbag here. Lou Holtz had more class, integrity, and genuine decency in his pinky finger than you’ll ever show in your lifetime.”

Another user wrote, “You’re a grumpy, lonely, Godless man. All the things Lou Holtz was not.”

Keith Olbermann speaks onstage during the Olbermann panel at the ESPN portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel July 24, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Olbermann has made it a pattern of sharing politically charged far-left statements that are often combative and ridiculed on social media, typically resulting in immense backlash.

After the U.S. men’s hockey team’s gold medal win, Olbermann heavily criticized the team for accepting an invitation from President Trump to the State of the Union address. Olbermann wrote on X that any members of the men’s team who attended the event were “declaring their indelible stupidity and misogyny,” while praising the women’s team for declining the invitation.

In January, Olbermann attacked former University of Kentucky women’s swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler for celebrating a women’s rights rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court during oral arguments for two cases focused on the legality of biological male trans athletes in women’s sports.

Former Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz listens before being presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec, 3, 2020. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“It’s still about you trying to find an excuse for a lifetime wasted trying to succeed in sports without talent,” Olbermann wrote in response to Wheeler’s post.

In 2025, Olbermann faced significant backlash after posting (and later deleting) a message on X aimed at CNN contributor Scott Jennings, that said, “You’re next motherf—–,” shortly after the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

Holtz was a stern supporter of President Donald Trump, even saying in February 2024 that Trump needed to “coach America back to greatness!”

Near the end of Trump’s first term, shortly after former President Joe Biden defeated him in the 2020 election, Trump awarded Holtz with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award of the United States.

After Holtz’s death was announced Wednesday, several top GOP figures paid tribute to the coach on social media.

Those GOP lawmakers included senators Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.; Todd Young, R-Ind.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; representatives Greg Murphy, R-N.C.; David Rouzer, R-N.C.; Erin Houchin, R-Ind.; and Steve Womack, R-Ark.; and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; Indiana Gov. Mike Braun; U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon; and Rudy Giuliani.

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Lou Holtz, former Notre Dame football coach, addresses the America First Policy Institute’s America First Agenda Summit at the Marriott Marquis July 26, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

At the time of publication, prominent Democrat leaders have appeared silent on Holtz’s passing, including prominent Democrats with a football background.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who worked as an assistant high school football coach; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., who was a recruiting target for Holtz in 1986 as a college prospect; Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, who played in the NFL; and Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Ill., who played football for the University of Illinois, have not posted acknowledging Holtz’s death.

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