Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2025 25 For Sneed to be a consistent player and reach his ceiling, he had to add that weight. Bullough knew it, and he made sure Sneed knew it, too. "[I told him], 'Sneed, you gotta get up to 230, 235 and then the sky's the limit for you. But until then, it is what it is,'" Bullough said. "And he's got himself in that position, and I couldn't be more excited about him." Sneed took a step last season, making significant contributions as a rotational and situational player. But he was in- consistent, and in some games, he was the fifth member of a five-man line- backing corps. He was a unique talent and the Irish knew how to use him, but he also wasn't a perfect fit in their base nickel defense. That, Sneed said and Bullough con- firmed, has changed. "I feel like it's impacted my game so much," Sneed said. "Like, I feel so much more explosive. I feel stronger. I feel I can actually move guys back now and it's been amazing to play linebacker and not feel like you're the smaller guy out there, be weaker than the alignment." "He's physical," Bullough said. "His feet are more underneath him. He's able to take on blocks. He doesn't run in there and bounce out. He really looks like a linebacker." Sneed has also impressed Ash, who — like Golden before him — can be creative with the versatile defender. ✦ 1. Sophomore Linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Whether he starts over senior Jaylen Sneed or not almost seems inconse- quential. Both linebackers will play significant roles for the Irish in 2025, but Viliamu-Asa's flashes during the Blue-Gold Game were unbelievable. The Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco product destroyed blocks like a batter- ing ram. Force equals mass times acceleration; he doesn't have the mass of a pulling guard but man, oh, man does he have the acceleration. He hunted down ball carriers like a tiger. He was the only linebacker who stayed home on a Kenny Minchey keeper, which is a strong tell for a linebacker who sees the game well. Viliamu-Asa's best play wasn't one he'll get credit for. On one of junior safety Luke Talich's two goal-line stops, he ducked under junior offensive line- man Sullivan Absher and halted the running back's momentum. That move gave Talich time to make the play. Viliamu-Asa impacts every game he's in, and he does it in every possible way. 2. Sophomore Defensive End Bryce Young If he doesn't start Week 1, don't panic. Young is still raw, and senior defen- sive end Joshua Burnham will be difficult to displace. Burnham quietly became a solid starter for the Irish down the stretch last season and is a better run defender than his 6-foot-7, 260-pound counter- part. But few — if any — on the Irish have Young's ceiling. "He has the ability to be an All-American," senior right tackle Aamil Wagner said. "The sky is the limit for the kid," defensive coordinator Chris Ash said. "I don't think he has any idea how good he can be." Young has first-round physical tools. He also has the right mindset, which is why he was Notre Dame's special teams player of the year as a freshman with 3 blocked field goals. It feels like a matter of when, not if, he breaks through. 3. Junior Safety Luke Talich Talich led all Notre Dame defenders, by far, with 9 tackles in the Blue-Gold Game. That included those two goal-line stands, on which he met a tank of a running back in sophomore Aneyas Williams in the hole and drove him back at the point of contact. Talich, a special teams staple, has come a long way since he arrived in South Bend as a gangly walk-on from Wyoming. He has added the requisite weight and strength, up to 213 pounds at 6-foot-4. We've seen glimpses of physical- ity from Talich on special teams, but the Blue-Gold Game was the first time we really saw it on defense. That physicality, to go with his length and range on the back end, should make him one of Notre Dame's three safeties in its "spear" personnel pack- age. That should lead to a sizable role for Talich in 2025. 4. Junior Vyper Boubacar Traore Traore (knee) did not participate in spring practice, so this is a projection based on what we've seen in the past. And everything we've seen in the past screams that Traore is a breakout edge rusher waiting to happen. The Massachusetts native was breaking out early in the 2024 season before tearing his ACL after five games. In those five games, he picked up 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a pick six. He's a prototypical vyper, standing at 6-foot-4, 238 pounds, and you can't teach his explosiveness or ability to bend the edge. Presuming Traore is healthy, he should pick up right where he left off as a star pass rusher for Notre Dame. 5. Graduate Student Defensive Tackle Jared Dawson I get major Javontae Jean-Baptiste vibes from Dawson. Not as a player, but in terms of career arc. Both were productive role players at their previous schools. Both trans- ferred to Notre Dame to become more than that. Jean-Baptiste did, playing himself into an NFL Draft selection. Dawson certainly looked the part in the Blue-Gold Game, in which he was Notre Dame's most disruptive defensive lineman. He blew up multiple run plays, most notably hitting the back about five yards behind the line of scrimmage before he even had a chance to make a cut (Viliamu-Asa finished the play for a loss of 4 yards). He also picked up multiple quarterback pressures. I can see why Dawson's game might be better with 30 snaps per game and not 50. He plays with nonstop energy, which can be difficult to maintain at his 6-foot-1, 300-pound size. But in those snaps, he'll be a wrecking ball for the Irish. — Jack Soble Five Breakout Candidates For The Defense Sophomore defensive end Bryce Young has first-round physical tools, and it feels like a matter of when, not if, he breaks through. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER