Notre Dame football is coming off of a defense in 2024 that was one of the best we have seen in a very long time. Former defensive coordinator Al Golden was the architect, and he was able to utilize the tremendous talent that head coach Marcus Freeman and the staff have been able to accumulate over the last couple of cycles. That is especially true in the secondary, where the Fighting Irish had one of the best overall units in the country. 

That secondary had several stars most fans across college football know, including All-Americans Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts. Freshman Leonard Moore was also tremendous in his first season, and sophomore Christian Gray had several key plays throughout the year. Somehow, safety Adon Shuler has gone a little under the radar.

In his first year as a starter, Shuler became one of the rising stars at the safety position nationally lining up next to Watts. He ended the 2024 campaign with 59 total tackles, three interceptions, eight pass breakups, and three tackles for loss. Shuler had a great habit of always being around the football. 

In a recent interview with A to Z Sports, Shuler went in-depth on this past season, the next step for the Notre Dame program, and his ascension as a football player. It should surprise no one that Shuler gave a lot of the credit to Watts, who was an outstanding leader for the Irish the last two seasons. 

"Watching X for two years and seeing what he did my freshman year, it was really cool to see him making plays but he was still kind of raw out there," Shuler said about Watts. "He was just moving with the flow of the game. As I was able to play with him my sophomore year, it was cool to be able to see the game slow down for him even more. 

"It helped it slow down for me," continued Shuler. "We talked about when we see this, this is going to happen and speaking it into existence. He was really good at knowing the details of the week and harping on to make sure the younger guys were on it. He holds everyone to the standard and keeps everyone accountable." 

With Watts off to the NFL, this Notre Dame team is going to miss him in a lot of ways. His impact goes well beyond his 13 interceptions and 14 pass breakups during the last two seasons. His leadership might even be more missed. Now they need to figure out how to fill the void.

Despite just entering his junior season, Shuler is expected to try and fill those big shoes. The New Jersey native is not afraid of that new challenge. He is ready to serve the same role as Watts, and even potentially expand upon it. 

"Yea, no doubt," he said. "It’s like passing the torch. X passed the torch to me and now it’s my job to fulfill the same role that he did, and try to do it better. I just need to go in and continue to harp on it and make sure the younger guys are doing the right things. 

"Being at Notre Dame, you’re surrounded by a group of guys who want the best for themselves so that makes everything a lot easier when people are going to give their 110 percent no matter what you throw in front of them. I’m happy to be in this role and just see who is going to emerge next to have the same type of story I had."

All offseason, Notre Dame fans are going to be asking who the next starting safety is. There is a long list of talented options, including Brauntae Johnson, JaDon Blair, Luke Talich, and Kennedy Urlacher. Who steps up remains to be seen, but you can bet that Shuler will serve a big role in them develop into the next Notre Dame star. 

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