Notre Dame defensive end Jordan Botelho can’t catch a break when it comes to injuries. After a solid start to the 2024 college football season, Botelho missed the final 13 games of the season with a knee injury that required surgery. He was, by a solid margin, playing the most consistent football of his Fighting Irish career. 

It appeared that Botelho was ahead of schedule, and was set to be cleared for the summer. Unfortunately, he suffered a pectoral injury that will sideline him for the next four months. That means there is still a good chance that we see Botelho at some point in 2025, but the constant injury issues obviously are not ideal. 

Hindsight is always 20/20 but the injuries in the defensive end room wasn’t a new issue that just popped up. Botelho has dealt with injury, as has star pass rusher Boubacar Traore. He is also coming back from a serious knee injury, so potentially adding another talented player to supplement for those question marks was a hot topic this past offseason. 

There were two players that hit the transfer portal this offseason that the Fighting Irish had very little interest in, but would have made some sense. One was former Purdue standout Will Heldt, who was able to collect 56 total tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and five sacks despite being on a poor Boilermaker team last season. Heldt is also an Indiana native originally. 

At 6-6 and 265 pounds, Heldt would have been a tremendous addition potentially to that defensive end room. Instead, Notre Dame showed very little interest. Heldt is now a part of a Clemson defensive line that could end up being the best in college football this upcoming year. 

After Stanford head coach Troy Taylor was dismissed a couple of months ago, star pass rusher David Bailey also chose to look around for other opportunities. The 6-3, 250-pound defensive end has recorded 111 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, and 14.5 sacks in his three-year career. A perfect fit as a Vyper in the Notre Dame defense, they once again chose not to pursue. 

Bailey will now be suiting up for Texas Tech this season. His talents will most likely be wasted on a Red Raider team whose upside is probably a three loss Big 12 championship. He would have been a pretty easy replacement for Botelho, and could have potentially been your best pass rusher this fall. 

If Traore gets back to full health, this overall conversation probably does become a moot point. If he doesn’t, however, there becomes some extreme second guessing. That’s especially true if the defensive end room sustains another injury. 

Tight end is another position that brings some similar questions to defensive end. There is a lot of excitement surrounding senior Eli Raridon, but he brings a very troubling injury background. It’s possible that he does have that breakout campaign, but if it doesn’t go as planned, that room gets very thin quickly. 

Behind Raridon, you are hoping that players like Arkansas transfer Ty Washington, redshirt freshman Jack Larsen, or true freshman James Flanigan takes a step forward. It’s possible it happens, but the lack of experience and production doesn’t make anyone feel confident that they will. 

What if something does happen to Raridon? What’s next?

There actually was some interest in former Purdue star Max Klare this offseason, coming off of a dynamic season for the Boilermakers with 51 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns. The 6-4, 238-pound athlete is a dynamic weapon in the passing attack. 

Notre Dame had a great chance to close on Klare, but they weren’t willing to promise him a starting spot. Ohio State got into the picture, and was willing to meet those demands. He is being billed as a potential difference maker for the Buckeyes this upcoming season. 

Being proactive from a team building perspective typically makes for a wider margin or error. As optimists, let’s hope that these offseason decisions don’t cause us to second guess in the end. 

Latest Intel on Joey O’Brien, Khary Adams, and Kaydon Finley following biggest Notre Dame recruiting weekend of the year

Latest recruiting intel following huge Notre Dame official visit weekend