Notre lady Spring Football Roster Preview – Defense

The crime has already been examined. Now here is a spring examination about how Notre's Dame's defensive squad looks like it is looking for the 2025 season.

Position: central defense line
Scholarship player: 10
Projected starter: Gabriel Rubio and Jared Dawson

Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire about Getty Images

Rubio became a starter in the schedule in the schedule and took over in the College Football Playoff 2024 after Rylie Mills had a knee injury against Indiana in the end. Now in his fifth year with the program, Rubio has his chance to shine, most likely together with the Louisville Transplant Dawson. Dawson is a player in the sixth year who performed in double -digit games in the last three seasons and a total career as 51 tackles, 14.0 TFLs and 9.0 sacks.

Behind these two is Donovan Hinish, younger brother of Kurt, the former record holder of Notre Dame for Career Games (a record that is probably now taking place forever by Jack Kiser). Like Rubio, Donovan became a major role in the late season in the late season last season due to the ankle injury. The younger Hinish was a total of 35 duels, 5.0 TFLs and 4.5 sacks in the second year. In addition to Elijah Hughes, a student broadcast from USC or Jason Onye, he will play a second role again. Onye performed in just five games last year before he spoke for the rest of the season for personal reasons, but is now again listed on Notre Dame's squad. Both Hughes and onye have limited production in two or four college seasons.

Filling out the interior in the second year, Armel Mukam, Brenan Vernon and Devan Houston, the redshirt Sean Sevillano Jr. and the real newcomers Davion Dixon, Gordy Sulfsted and Joseph Reiff. Mukam and Sevillano seem to have a piece of season from this group next season and leave the former, highly advertised views of Vernon and Houston as boys with make-or break sources.

The key in this position is to find as much depth as possible. Defensive interior is a position that requires quality and quantity, but the upward trend at the top of the position was definitely higher in 2024 with mills and cross. Therefore, the approach of the coaching team in the interior this year must ensure that the quality of the 2025 backups is closer to the quality of the 2025 starter than the quality of the 2024 backups for the 2024 starters.

Position: defensive end
Scholarship player: 11
Project Starter: Boubacar Traore and Joshua Burnham

Would Boubacar Traore Jordan Botelho have usurpated as a start -Pass -Pass -rusher last season? We will never know the answer because Traore has entered the line -up after Botelho tore his ACL and then opened his own ACL shortly afterwards. Since this injury at the end of September, both boys have had a good chance of participating during the spring ball and being near the full go go in the autumn camp. In view of the two players who saved serious knee injuries, it is reassuring that Bryce Young was put into service as a real newcomer and was impressed. Perhaps he has retained a starting job, while Traore spends most of 2025 to get up to date.

As for the other side of the line, Burnham had its best season as a redshirt in 2024, began 10 out of 14 appearances and recorded a total of 30 duels (6.5 for loss) and two sacks. At the beginning of the season, he was limited for a route after suffering an ankle injury to North Illinois, but he got better a better year over the year, and his senior season would be the ideal time to reach his climax.

Behind Burnham is the real senior junior Tuihalamaka. Both Burnham and Tuihalamaka were recruited as a linebacker in class 2022, but were postponed to the defensive end after too much weight. Burnham seemed to take over the position that changed much better than Tuihalamaka, but the need for Tuihalamaka was the need for the invention when he came to his own after the defensive violations last season. He posted 33 duels, 6.0 TFLs, 3.0 sacks, two fumble recovery and a intercept in 2024, including half of the half after Georgia Quarterback Gunner Stockton was strip-sacked.

The third/fourth string on the edge in the second year are rounded off Loghan Thomas and Redshirt Neuling Cole Mullins. Thomas had almost an unforgettable moment last season before his touchdown against Louisville was lifted at Replay Review. Nevertheless, in 2024 the coaching staff burned its redshirt, which promises for the trust in him regardless of the injuries to Botelho and Traore, which opened the season.

The rest of the defensive make the real newcomers Dominik Hulak and Christopher Burgess Jr., a few three-stars who only arrive on campus in summer.

The conclusion for this position is that the upper end of the room between Traore, Young and Thomas has great potential and a lot of experience between Botelho, Burnham and Tuihalamaka. The fear is whether the talent will quickly exploit part of this potential in view of injuries and whether there is still an unused promise in the veterinarians.

Position: line backer
Scholarship player: 10
Project Starter: Drayk Bowen and Jaiden Ausberry

Consider it that Notre Dame will decrease to three line backers in his basic defense, since secondary personnel remain such a strength and the new defensive coordinator Chris Ash is also a safety coach. But the Irish have many talented boys to choose from for these two starting places.

The legacy that Jack Kiser is obviously noted by Notre Dame's Career Leader in the played game-is drayk Bowen, who assumes that his helmet will be wired to speak to Ash Mid Games. Bowen recorded 78 duels last year, 4.0 for the loss and a sack. He also forced a fumbling against the state of Ohio, who kept the dying opportunities of Notre Dame alive in a national title. Against him, Ausberry could achieve a total of 58 duels, 7.0 TFLs and two fumble recreations against him last year, including one against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

ABERBERRY has a knack for being on the ball, but that may not be enough to be the real second Kyngstonn Villiamu-Asa, a former five-star recruit, which is a dangerous linacker for passport rush lines. KVA recorded a solid first semester campaign last year, which was only stunted by a violation of the lower body, which held it out at the end of the regular season and start of College football playoff.

Beyond these top three, Jaylen Sneed, a real senior and another former five-star recruit, who performed in all 16 games last year and played his best football until the end of the season. He is another Pass-Rushing-Linebacker who falls victim to the “Tweener” in a defense that no longer uses the Rover position.

Then there is a redshirt in the second year Preston Zinter and the true newcomer Madden Faraimo. Zinter appeared in every game last year, mainly in special teams, and is in a difficult position behind so many talented players who fight valuable snapshots. He is in danger of falling back in Faraimo, another five-star recruit that was able to cause a sensation last season as a true newcomer à la Villiamu-asa. If so, Zinter is a top candidate to meet the transfer portal.

The redshirt Kahanu Kia, Teddy Rezac and Bodie Kahoun and the true newcomer Ko'o Kia are rounded off. These are all developmental prospects that their time at LineBacker have to do, and probably would have to do the same at the defensive end if any shifted there (because it looked like Kia could go on his LDS mission after the 2021 season).

Position: Cornerback
Scholarship player: 8
Projected starter: Leonard Moore, Christian Gray and Devonta Smith

Don't cry for what was; Smile for what comes next. After half of the regular season of 2024, Benjamin Morrison played before a hip injury at the end of the NFL, and Jaden Mickey moved to Cal-Berkely after an up and a half year of years in South Bend. But the return are Leonard Moore and true Sophomore, who, like the next Morrison, looked like in the back half of 2024 and Christian Gray.

Gray had a tough end of the 2024 season after he had received the not envied order to guard the state of Ohio in the national championship. Nevertheless, Gray is still the guy who had the mental strength to react to a hard game against USC with a game sealing SIX, and the guy who has done a diving cappling from Drew Allar to put on a game-winning field goal against Penn State in the Orange Bowl.

Alabama Transfer Devonta Smith -nothing with the other Devonta Smith, who is just winning a Super Bowl and emerged dame fans in 2020, who took on Jordan Clark's tasks as start nickel.

Probably the second cord on the corner of true Sophomore Karson Hobbs and real newcomers Dallas Golden and Mark Zachary IV. Golden and Zachary are top 200 recruits with four stars that Mickey, which was done to Gray last season, may be able to do, although none of the Freshman arrives on campus until summer. And filling out the room is the real newcomer Cree Thomas, who registered at the beginning of this spring, and chance Tucker, a player in the fifth year who missed the entire last season after an autumn ACL tear.

As long as the position trainer Mike Mickens continues to work his magic in the back of Irish defense, everything that Chris Ash can otherwise contribute to secondary coaching can only be a sauce.

Position: security
Scholarship player: 11
Projected starter: Adon Shuler and Jalen power

Speaking of ashes, it will be interesting to see what an emergency defense that he can do for safety. For every Harrison Smith, Kyle Hamilton or Xavier Watts, which reaches incredible heights at the position, the rest of the room always seems to be desirable to leave a lot from a recruitment point. Now that Watts goes to the NFL after two all-American playing times, the second year Adon Shuler will fall in Redshirt to take over the coat.

Shuler will probably be together with a power, a transfer in the fifth year of Virginia Tech, who missed everyone last season except for one game with an injury. In his two seasons before, he achieved a total of 98 duels, two duels against losses and four defense.

In view of the fact that Stroman's production is not outstanding – and he will miss spring after a surgical intervention – it cannot be ruled out that it will receive the same treatment as the Northwestern Transfer Rod last season. Heard was relegated to a bank role because of the development of Shuler, and it is not unimaginable that the same from Luke Taich, Kennedy Urlacher, Tae Johnson, Ben Minich or four-star-early roll Jadon Blair could be done to power.

And behind the returning participants and the high-packed Blair, redshirt newcomers Taebron Bennie-Powell and three-star Hersemester Ethan Long, Anthony Sacca and Brandon Logan are.

Even if you recognize that the transfer portal is always a stop fabric for positions with holes, ash and mickens must find at least two of the difference in this position that can become more viable next season. This is because electricity exhausted its justification after this year and that Shuler could be a dark horse in the 2026 NFL design.