2 Notre Dame defenders hold the key for whether the Irish defense can reach elite status heading into the 2025 college football season
Notre Dame went through a massive coaching shift this offseason when defensive coordinator Al Golden took the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals. It didn’t take long for Marcus Freeman to find his replacement, choosing former Rutgers head coach and Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash. It was a random, and curious move to say […]
Notre Dame went through a massive coaching shift this offseason when defensive coordinator Al Golden took the same position with the Cincinnati Bengals. It didn’t take long for Marcus Freeman to find his replacement, choosing former Rutgers head coach and Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash. It was a random, and curious move to say the least.
Even with the uncertainty around Ash, there is an even bigger certainty, this defensive roster is loaded with talent. The Irish may have lost Xavier Watts, Benjamin Morrison, Howard Cross III, Rylie Mills, and Jack Kiser to the NFL this offseason, but the comfort in the talent returning is a testament to recruiting under Coach Freeman.
In the secondary, Notre Dame has a chance to put together an elite group for the third straight season. Returning cornerbacks Leonard Moore and Christian Gray, as well as safety Adon Shuler is a stellar group. Add in the young talent ready to emerge, and you have yourself an embarrassment of riches.
The linebacker position should also be quite good. Drayk Bowen, Jaiden Ausberry, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, and Jaylen Sneed all return. Coach Freeman, along with linebackers coach Max Bullough, will continue to attract top talent. The future of the linebacker room is in a great place.
There is even reason to believe that the defensive line will be good. Notre Dame is bringing back a deep group of defensive tackles, including Gabriel Rubio, Jason Onye, and Donovan Hinish, as well as Louisville transfer Jared Dawson. The return of players like Joshua Burnham, Junior Tuihalamaka, and the injured Jordan Botelho is also a nice boost.
This defense has a strong baseline of at least being very good. In order for the unit to get over the top, there will be one major key. Coach Ash and defensive line coach Al Washington need to find some answers to the pass rush, the one that was absent in the National Championship Game against Ohio State.
There are two players who hold the key for the pass rush unit to take the next step forward, Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young. Before getting injured early on in the season, it looked like Traore was on his way to becoming a superstar. He was leading the team with five tackles for loss and three sacks at the time, and brought the speed, bend, and explosiveness that has been missing coming off the edge.
At 6-7 and 258 pounds, Notre Dame just hasn't seen anything like Young in a long, long time. He was raw coming in but Young really started to figure some things out down the stretch of the season. While there is a lot of projection here, Young has the look of a future first round selection.
If Traore is able to get back fully healthy, and Young takes a step forward, this pass rush has a chance to be scary in 2025. That is the key to this defense going from very good to arguably the best in college football this fall.
