Projecting the Notre Dame Fighting Irish starting defense following two weeks of fall camp in preparation for opener against Miami

Projected the Notre Dame defensive depth chart heading into their season opener against Miami

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are less than two weeks away from kicking off their 2025 college football season against the Miami Hurricanes on August 31. It feels like a perfect time to project what the final depth chart will look like heading into the matchup. On the defensive side of the football, this could be the deepest defensive unit that this team has had in a very long time.

At certain positions, it is extremely difficult to project the starters still. Regardless, there seems to be a solid handle on who will be lining up where. On the defensive line, for instance, it doesn’t matter as much who starts the football game against Miami. There are some positions that are just insanely deep right now. Here is where things currently stand.

Defensive line 

The defensive line for Notre Dame has a chance to be the deepest unit they have had in a couple of years. On the EDGE, they are especially good. With Boubacar Traore back healthy, he has the pass rush ability to be a superstar in 2025 if he stays on the field. The scary part is that the unit will be even stronger once Jordan Botelho returns from injury. Inside, it is going to be a deeper rotation for the Irish. We are going to see a lot of Jason Onye, Donovan Hinish, Jared Dawson, and Gabriel Rubio, but I expect Onye to be the biggest breakout star on the unit.

LDE – Bryce Young (So.)

LDE – Joshua Burnham (RS Jr.)

NT – Donovan Hinish (RS Jr.)

NT – Gabriel Rubio (RS Sr.)

DT – Jason Onye (RS Sr.)

DT – Jared Dawson (RS Sr.)

RDE – Boubacar Traore (RS So.)

RDE – Junior Tuihalamaka (RS Jr.)

Linebackers 

Speaking of crazy depth, the linebacker room for Notre Dame is an embarrassment of riches. While there are technically starting positions at MIKE, WILL, and Rover, I expect Notre Dame to be in more two-linebacker alignments this season with a nickel in the game. Regardless of whether there are two or three linebackers on the field, you should expect a rotation of Drayk Bowen, Jaylen Sneed, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, and Jaiden Ausberry to be prevalent. That group has a chance to be special.

MIKE – Drayk Bowen (Jr.)

MIKE – Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (So.)

WILL – Jaylen Sneed (RS Jr.)

WILL – Jaiden Ausberry (RS So.)

ROVER – Jaiden Ausberry (RS So.)

ROVER – Teddy Rezac (RS Fr.)

Secondary

The Notre Dame secondary is arguably the best, and deepest in all of college football. There are four certainties on the back end for the Fighting Irish, Leonard Moore will be a star in the boundary, Christian Gray to the field, Adon Shuler holding down one safety spot, and DeVonta Smith is the main nickel. One interesting conversation is who starts at safety opposite of Shuler. I also believe that sophomore Karson Hobbs will be the first cornerback off the bench, and that will be at boundary, field, and at the nickel.

BC – Leonard Moore (So.)

BC – Karson Hobbs (So.)

FC – Christian Gray (Jr.)

FC – Karson Hobbs (So.)

FS – Luke Talich (Jr.)

FS – Tae Johnson (RS Fr.)

BS – Adon Shuler (RS So.)

BS – Jalen Stroman (RS Sr.)

Nickel – DeVonta Smith (RS Sr.)

Nickel – Karson Hobbs (So.)

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