Notre Dame’s defensive tackle depth chart reveals an embarrassment of riches heading into 2026 opener against Wisconsin
Defensive tackle has been a huge area of concern for Notre Dame in recent years. That sure has changed going into the 2026 season.
Notre Dame football’s final depth chart ahead of the 2026 season opener against the Wisconsin Badgers tells a compelling story about the Fighting Irish defensive tackle room.
Head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive coordinator Chris Ash, defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, and the rest of the defensive staff are clearly thrilled about the unit they’ve assembled, and for good reason. The depth Notre Dame has built at defensive tackle represents a significant shift for a program where interior defensive line depth has been a concern in seasons past.
Armel Mukam’s rise has been the story of the offseason
One of the biggest surprises of this Notre Dame offseason has been redshirt junior defensive tackle Armel Mukam, who earned a starting spot on the depth chart. His ascension represents the type of player development that has quietly transformed the Fighting Irish defensive line.
Mukam, originally a defensive end recruit out of Woodbury Forest and a native of Canada, arrived as a developmental prospect in the 2023 recruiting class. At 255 pounds, he carried high upside as a pass rusher, but the staff had a different long-term vision. He has slowly transitioned into a 6-foot-3, 300 to 305-pound defensive tackle, and the results have been striking.
The path was not always smooth. Mukam initially entered the transfer portal this offseason, a move that could have ended his Notre Dame career.
It was Partridge and several others on the defensive staff, who held high expectations for Mukam’s overall talent, who convinced him that returning to South Bend was the better option for his future. He came back with a different attitude and a different perspective. Mukam has always been a worker, but there has been a laser focus around him this offseason that the coaching staff has consistently praised.
That focus paid off in a tangible way. Notre Dame spent significant money to bring in Francis Brewu from Pittsburgh and Tionne Gray from Oregon during the transfer portal period. Many expected those two to be the starters heading into 2026. Mukam outworked those expectations and is now listed as a starter above the talented Brewu.
A 4-man rotation that rivals anything Notre Dame has had in years
The other starting defensive tackle is Jason Onye, who many thought would not even be available for the 2026 season after initially exhausting his eligibility. Once his appeal for one additional season was approved, Onye locked in with the same laser focus that defined Mukam’s offseason.
After showing flashes of success in 2025, Onye elevated his game to earn the starting nod alongside Mukam.
The emergence of both players has pushed Brewu and Gray into second-team roles, but those two will still play at a huge volume this season. That 4-man rotation is about as good as Notre Dame has had in quite some time.
Then there’s Elijah Hughes, the fifth defensive tackle in the rotation, who at times last year was Notre Dame’s most consistent interior defensive lineman.
Despite that production and a spot on Bruce Feldman’s freak list this offseason, Hughes has been pushed down the depth chart because of the sheer talent accumulated in the room. Sean Sevillano Jr. rounds out a potential 6-man defensive tackle rotation after a strong offseason of his own.
And that doesn’t even include Christopher Burgess, who is expected to play a significant role this season but is currently recovering from an offseason surgery.
Ready to be unleashed
This Notre Dame defensive tackle room is as talented and as deep as South Bend has seen in a very long time. The development track that Freeman and his staff have built — combining aggressive portal acquisitions with the return of experienced players like Onye — has created an embarrassment of riches along the interior defensive line.
Mukam’s rise from a portal-bound developmental project to a starter above high-profile transfers captures the overall growth of this unit, and the Fighting Irish are ready to put it on display in 2026.
