Wyoming native Luke Talich might be a nationally renowned college football player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with NFL ambitions, but that doesn’t mean he still won’t take time out of his day to recognize one of his Wyoming fans.
One of those, a 13-year-old boy from Lander named Maddox, traveled to South Bend, Indiana, to watch Talich put on a show this past Saturday night.
Brandishing a Wyoming Cowboys flag and a sign that read “I came 1313 miles to see Luke,” the child got a handshake and a smile from Talich before the game during the team’s walk across campus.
Then, after the game, conducting countless interviews with the media and celebrating with his teammates, Talich spotted the boy again outside the stadium and ran over to him. This time, Talich talked with him, autographed his sign and took a few photos together.
Talich told Cowboy State Daily he considers it an honor to be in the position of a revered football player and described the interaction as a “cool moment.”
“Really cool to see and meet Maddox,” Talich said. "He’s a great kid."
The moment meant just as much to Maddox and his family.
“To think he just came off the biggest game of his life with likely his best performance to date and yet he chose to come out and spend a few minutes with a fellow small town Wyoming boy,” the boy’s mother, Derin Wise, wrote of Talich on Facebook. “It’s moments like this that give kids hopes and dreams and inspires them to go out and work hard every day to make those dreams a reality.”
Stands Out On National Stage
Talich had an interception, forced a fumble and made a key late defensive stop in Notre Dame's 31-24 win over then-top-ranked Miami on Saturday.
His interception came late in the third quarter, when Miami was starting to get some downfield momentum and was down just one touchdown.
The Miami tight end Talich had been covering had beaten him on an out route earlier in the game. When he saw the same play called again, he instantly knew what he had to do.
“I was able to just slip the hip, had sticky coverage on him, and turned my head to see what the quarterback was doing and the ball was right there,” Talich said. “I just made a play, jumped in front of it, and I was able to catch it.”
Talich said he’ll remember the play for the rest of his life.
After the interception, his mother, Jen Talich, said all of the players' families were seeking out her family in the stands to congratulate them.
With under four minutes left and Miami down by one score, Talich had an even bigger play, breaking up a fourth-down end zone pass. He then had to wait through a long replay review before receiving confirmation that he had successfully made the biggest play of his career so far.
“When the call came in it was a really cool moment,” Talich said. “Definitely a special thing I’ll remember for a long time.”
Although Talich said he didn’t consider it the best game of his career, he does consider it the most defining moment in his journey, making big plays on a national stage when his team needed him most.
As a child, he dreamed of moments like these and it was part of the reason he decided to come to Notre Dame, he said, to prove to himself he could play at the highest level.
“I’m doing that and I’m living it and it’s been incredible,” Talich said. “It’s been an amazing journey.”
After the win, the Irish fans, including the Taliches, stormed the field.
Notre Dame has had to prove itself to critics throughout the season, many of whom say the team has benefitted from an easy schedule. After the Irish's only loss, to BYU, they were No. 11 in the first playoff rankings.
The Irish (8-1) needed a signature win to stay in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth, and now they are up to No. 5 with three regular-season games remaining.
Earning redemption and recognition, Jen Talich said, makes the journey that much sweeter.
“It’s so fun, it’s so incredibly fun,” she said. “It’s their dream. They want to win the whole thing.”
From Walk-on To NFL Player?
Talich led the Cody Broncs to two state titles as a quarterback and safety. He played varsity all four years of his career.
Talich also was a three-sport athlete. He won three individual state titles his senior year in track.
Talich turned down a handful of scholarship offers for a walk-on opportunity with his dream school, Notre Dame. He earned a scholarship by his sophomore year, and climbed the ranks from special-teams performer to starting safety this season.
Talich is a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, an annual award presented to the college football player with the best combination of academic success, on-field performance, and exemplary leadership, often called the "Academic Heisman.”
There has even been some chatter online from draft analysts who say he has NFL potential. Talich is aware of this attention and opened up to Cowboy State Daily about his NFL ambitions.
“That’s my plan, to go play in the NFL and hopefully make a career out of it,” Talich said. “Definitely looking forward to that opportunity when that time comes.”
Incredible Journey
Talich’s success at Notre Dame wasn’t immediate. On the Wake Up The Echoes podcast published Thursday, he spoke about his evolution from just trying to earn a scholarship as a freshman to the team-first mentality he keeps today.
“I do it for something bigger than myself, I do it for the team, I do it for the brotherhood,” he said. “If you can buy into doing something greater than yourself, you’re doing something for someone else, you can make something really special.”
In the podcast, Talich discussed some of the dark moments he had when he first got to campus, feeling doubt about his decision to come to Notre Dame and whether he deserved to be a part of the team. He talked more about this in a LinkedIn post he made Wednesday, lamenting how during his sophomore fall camp he became so focused on proving he belonged that he lost sight of the joy of playing football and his gratitude for getting to be at Notre Dame.
“So I started doing something simple. Every day, I journaled and thanked God,” Talich wrote. “For the chance to play for Notre Dame. For the education I was receiving. For my family and everything they'd sacrificed to help me get there. For the people who believed in me, even when I struggled to believe in myself.”
His progression since that time has been consistent. After playing only sparingly as a freshman, Talich got much more playing time as a sophomore, recording his first interception and touchdown. He also made a tackle in the 2025 national championship game against Ohio State.
He continued his upward trajectory in his junior year, logging three interceptions and two touchdowns.
Talich has been playing most of this season with a club, a cast that covers his entire thumb and wrist, after breaking his left hand in the third game of the season. He only missed one game and has started every game since.
He has three interceptions. He also got 10 tackles in an earlier win against Navy, the first Notre Dame player to reach double digits. He already has 43 tackles, on pace to more than double his previous season high of 25.
“It’s been a fun season for sure, just trying to take advantage of all the opportunities I’ve been given,” Talich said.
With increased playing time and expectations for her son, Jen Talich said she’s felt some of the increase in pressure herself, but she has simultaneously become closer with the Notre Dame family of players and their families.
“You just don’t think you’re going to make the kind of friendships that you do with these people that you're sharing this special time of the boys’ lives,” she said.
Cody Connection
This past summer, Talich held his second annual Luke Talich Youth Football Camp in Cody, this time bringing four of his Notre Dame teammates and their families with him to Wyoming. All of the proceeds from his camp go to support Cody Youth Football.
“I’ve always valued being back and valued giving back to Cody because Cody is the place that raised me and the people that raised me,” Talich said. “It’s so special. Definitely a really cool moment for me and the community and I think it brings everyone together in a good way.”
Before each season, the Taliches and their friends coordinate how they’ll attend each game, usually played halfway across the country. This is no easy task when considering they’re still raising two of Luke’s siblings and his younger sister Ellie plays soccer at Black Hills State in South Dakota.
Jen and her husband, Jim, won’t make it to Saturday’s game against Boston College because Luke’s younger brother Jake, a high school sophomore, played in the 3A state championship football game for Cody on Friday, wearing the same No. 28 as Luke.
But one of Luke’s aunts, a high school football teammate from Cody, and a Belgian foreign-exchange student who lived with the Taliches when Luke was in eighth grade will be going.
“So, he’ll have some fans there,” Jen Talich said with a laugh.
What’s Next?
The NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rules generally allow qualifying athletes up to five years of eligibility, depending on their age and when they first enroll full time in college. Talich said he can play one more season of college football after this season.
He plans to graduate this December with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in real estate, but can still continue with his education at Notre Dame while playing next year. Talich said he’s unsure what the future holds for now, but will make a decision in the next few months.
“I’m just trying to live in the moment and help my team win games,” Talich said.
