With spring practice officially here, there may be no player who is showing off a new look and a very much improved physique than Notre Dame freshman Jerome Bettis Jr. The son of Irish and NFL legend Jerome Bettis is technically entering his second season in South Bend, but with limited action in 2025, he's retained his redshirt.
Bettis looks like he took what he learned in his first year with Marcus Freeman's squad to heart. He knew that to get in more games in 2026, he would need to beef up a bit. As Rivals' analyst Jack Soble pointed out, the wide receiver did indeed add some serious bulk to his frame.
Soble said that Bettis might have already won the award for "biggest transformation from Year 1 to Year 2" for Notre Dame.Â
Jerome Bettis Jr. arrives at Notre Dame football's spring practice with the most impressive physical transformation on the roster
He's gotten quite a bit bigger and looks quite a bit more cut, both adjustments that should come in handy when he's trying to push off the line and break tackles.
Last season, the NFL legacy player saw action in just one game. Against the Navy Midshipmen, he got 11 snaps. That playing time included a catch for 6 yards. It's clear that finally getting on the field late in the season whetted his whistle to do even more in his redshirt-freshman season.
Bulking up should serve Jerome Bettis Jr. well this spring and fall, considering how pitched the battle for wide receiver playing time will be in 2026. In addition to a ton of talent returning, Notre Dame added some serious young talent from the Transfer Portal at the position. On Friday, the battle officially began.