Heading into the 2026 college football season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are expected to have one of the very best linebacker units in all of college football.

With head coach Marcus Freeman’s background as a former defensive coordinator, it shouldn’t be a total shock that the position has taken a massive step forward since he arrived in South Bend. The 2026 season will serve as a barometer for just how good linebacker recruiting and development have been over the last several years.

For a fall camp preview, here are the names to know on the second level of the Notre Dame defense and why Fighting Irish fans should be excited about how good this linebacker unit could be. This group has a chance to be the best overall unit in the country.

The known commodities

There are four veteran linebackers who, if healthy, Notre Dame fans should know a lot about at this point.

Starting middle linebacker Drayk Bowen is a known commodity. At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Bowen is a throwback linebacker who does his best work playing downhill. He’s also reactive, working against slide routes and flat throws, showing the ability to make plays in the passing game at times. He is a source of consistency in the middle of the defense. Not an overly flashy player, but reliable for the most part.

The potential star of this group is junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who is returning from an ACL injury. According to Freeman, the staff has a good timeline on him right now, and he could be back for the beginning of the 2026 season after attacking rehab in a great way.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker is a dynamic athlete on the second level who plays with great instincts and understanding. His versatility allows him to play both linebacker spots, blitz off the edge, and rush from the inside.

He is a playmaker whose stats per snap are the highest on the team overall. If healthy, he has a chance to be the best overall linebacker in college football in 2026 and could contend to be the first one off the board in the 2027 NFL Draft. The talent is absolutely there, and Notre Dame is expecting a huge jump from KVA in 2026 when he returns.

Jaylen Sneed now goes into his fifth-year senior season. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker is arguably the team’s most twitchy athlete on the second level, but the instincts have always been hit or miss. Like KVA, Sneed has been used as a pass rusher at times during his Notre Dame career, and a lot of his biggest impact plays have come from that alignment. He should at worst be a nice movable chess piece on the second level for a linebacker room that is very good.

Seeing how he mixes and matches in different spots will be important for this defense and the versatility that it brings.

The rising names to watch

Jaiden Ausberry has become a bit of an underrated member of this unit going into his redshirt junior year. Not a big linebacker at about 6-foot and 225 pounds, but he’s a good athlete who moves incredibly well and has instincts on the second level. There are always going to be some limitations working at the point of attack, but when he reads and reacts well, he has the ability to make a ton of plays all over the field.

Sophomore Madden Faraimo could be the one who takes the biggest leap. At 6-foot-3 and about 235 pounds, Faraimo might be the most physically impressive linebacker on the roster, possessing incredible length, a great frame overall, and absurd range on the second level.

He showcased, when healthy last season, the talent that once made him a high four-star player in the 2025 recruiting class. There is an expectation that he’s going to take a nice step forward this season, which could be huge if KVA does miss any amount of time to begin the season.

Expect Faraimo to carve out a role and potentially ascend to becoming a star going into his junior season in 2027.

Outside of that group, Teddy Rezac is worth keeping a close eye on. Ko’o Kia is a young linebacker who has done some good stuff as well, but Notre Dame is going to be very veteran at linebacker in 2026. Those four to five names are the players you’re going to see most for the Fighting Irish and defensive coordinator Chris Ash this season.

Freeman’s sustained investment in the linebacker position is paying dividends. With a healthy KVA leading the charge and a deep rotation behind him, Notre Dame has the talent to field the top linebacker unit in the country this fall.