Notre Dame Hot Takes for the Fighting Irish defense heading into the 2025 College Football season

We are in the heat of July, which means it is the dead period of the college football offseason. Despite that break of action, we are going to blink our eyes, and the season will officially be upon us. Notre Dame football heads into the 2025 season with a ton of expectations, and Fighting Irish […]

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (27) celebrates with Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) after recovering a fumble against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

We are in the heat of July, which means it is the dead period of the college football offseason. Despite that break of action, we are going to blink our eyes, and the season will officially be upon us. Notre Dame football heads into the 2025 season with a ton of expectations, and Fighting Irish fans are excited to see this newest version of the team. 

The Irish defense was the strength of the team in 2024, and that is expected to once again be the case this fall. There is some turnover on that side of the football, and a new defensive coordinator in Chris Ash. That means that things could look slightly different than they have previously. 

With that in mind, here are some hot takes for the Fighting Irish heading into the 2025 season. It promises to be a tremendous group, but just how good?

Boubacar Traore breaks a barrier 

Notre Dame hasn’t had a defender eclipse double digit sacks since Isaiah Foskey did so during the 2022 season. Foskey actually did that in back to back seasons, ending his last two years with 11 sacks each. Before that, the Fighting Irish hadn’t had a double digit sack artist since Stephon Tuitt in 2012. It has been a rarer occurrence than most would believe. 

This hot take is barring health, but if Traore is indeed healthy for the majority of 2025, I believe he joins this list. He may have very well gotten these last season if he never got injured. To make things slightly spicier, I also think that Traore gets to 12 sacks. That means that he would get to the quarterback more than any other Notre Dame defender in the last 12 seasons. 

12 is the theme of today’s exercise. 

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa leads in tackles 

Heading into the 2025 season, it feels like most people have just penciled in starting MIKE linebacker Drayk Bowen as the team’s leading tackler. He is the team’s leading returner with 78 total tackles last season, so it’s understandable. 

For whatever reason, it feels like not enough people are talking about Viliamu-Asa. The sophomore standout showcased some huge upside a year ago, and I have a feeling he takes a big step this fall. So much so that I believe Viliamu-Asa could be the team’s most impactful run defender. 

Adon Shuler All-American 

Shuler put together an impressive first season for Notre Dame in 2024, ending the year with 59 total tackles, three interceptions, and eight pass breakups. The junior safety now has his next biggest challenge, filling the void left by former Irish All-American Xavier Watts. 

While there isn’t replacing the impact Watts had both as a player and leader, I think Shuler takes a massive step forward in his absence. I think he ascended to All-American status himself, and becomes one of the very best safeties in all of college football. 

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