It’s hard not to watch the Notre Dame 49-10 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers this past weekend and marvel over the talent that true freshman safety Joey O’Brien brings to the field.

At 6-5 and 205 pounds, he is a tremendous overall athlete, which is a big reason why he was bordering on five-star status in the 2026 recruiting class. After playing wide receiver and defensive back at LaSalle College Prep, O’Brien has now settled into the back end of the Notre Dame defense following his first career start against Purdue.

The flashes were everywhere. O’Brien combined with Boubacar Traore for a sack during the game. He looked smooth, he looked explosive, and for a player whose game is mostly centered around pass coverage, he also did a tremendous job in his run fits and overall impact against the run.

Some people are already invoking the name of Kyle Hamilton for obvious reasons. The frame is an easy indicator of the special talent O’Brien brings to the table, but his combination of ball skills and overall movement skills is what makes him such an enticing prospect and a likely superstar in the future for head coach Marcus Freeman and defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

O’Brien’s opportunity came from injuries

O’Brien had played mostly special teams through the first three games before earning his shot against Purdue.

That opportunity came because of injuries to Brauntae Johnson and Luke Talich over the last several weeks. It has been revealed that Talich will be available for this week’s game against North Carolina after suffering an injury against Michigan State that required surgery. Johnson is also expected to return to the fold at some point, most likely over the next couple of weeks.

That means this safety room and depth chart is going to get incredibly crowded in a very short amount of time. The Notre Dame coaching staff is going to be faced with a true rich man’s dilemma: how do you get Joey O’Brien on the field when both of those safeties return?

Notre Dame’s safety depth is staggering

Senior and captain Adon Shuler is going to handle the boundary safety position. He is one of the more underrated defensive backs and overall defensive players in all of college football.

Johnson carried preseason first-round hype for the 2027 NFL Draft and was viewed as a potential All-American by some before his injury. Then when Johnson went out, Talich was arguably the best defender on the field for Notre Dame during their outing against Michigan State.

There are potentially some ways to get multiple of those players on the field at the same time.

Talich’s size at 6-4 and 220 pounds is an imposing presence that could also play on the second level, which we saw against Michigan State as a de facto dime linebacker. Even with that potential formula on the table, it’s going to be hard to get O’Brien consistent reps on the back end of the defense.

Patience will be key for O’Brien’s development

Freeman and company have a fascinating conversation ahead of them.

There is going to be a level of patience with O’Brien even after his flashes against Purdue, knowing that his best football is still going to come down the road. However, it’s hard to see those flashes against the Boilermakers and just settle with relegating him to the bench.

Perhaps his presence will allow Notre Dame to be a little more patient with the return of Johnson. Either way, this safety room is going to return to one of the deepest overall units in all of college football. The possibilities are endless, and it will be fascinating to see how this team is able to utilize O’Brien as the season progresses.