Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2025 23 "Everybody in the country last year knew we were playing man every snap," junior safety Adon Shuler said. "That's what they look for at the next level as well: Can you play zone? Can you play man? This defense will help me be a more complete safety." "I like playing man on somebody the whole game, shutting them down," sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore said. "But it's good to definitely have a changeup in there every now and then." Freeman said that he and Ash will de- cide over the summer and in fall camp what coverage the Irish will "hang their hats on." But challenging the defense to do different things in practice, Freeman explained, will enhance what they're capable of in the fall. Ash's second wrinkle also came from his opinion of Notre Dame's defensive line, specifically the edge rushers. He wants to give the Bryce Youngs, Bou- bacar Traores and Jordan Botelhos more freedom to make plays. As a result, Ash is experimenting with aligning the Irish edge rushers in a 7 technique (outside shoulder of the tight end), rather than a 6i (inside shoulder). When he coached with the Las Vegas Raiders, he saw star defensive end Maxx Crosby blossom into a superstar with this alignment. "We're just taking a look at different ways to play our defensive ends to help them rush the passer, force one-on-one blocks with tight ends a bit more," Ash said. "We're just checking things out in the spring. So far, so good. I think they like it." Young shares that feeling. "I was like, 'Let's go,'" Young said. "This will be a fun defense to play." ONYE RETURNS TO BOLSTER DEEP DEFENSIVE TACKLE GROUP Replacing star defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills was always going to be a difficult task. Notre Dame knows it can't do that with two players. It can, however, Moneyball the situ- ation. "You're still trying to replace [Jason] Giambi," Brad Pitt, playing Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane, said in the iconic 2011 film. "We can't do it. What we might be able to do is recre- ate him. Recreate him in the aggregate." Notre Dame looks like it's five-deep at defensive tackle, and potentially six if 341-pound sophomore behemoth Sean Sevillano Jr. can break through. It won't be just two of them stepping into Cross and Mills' role. It will likely be all of them — graduate students Jared Dawson, Gabriel Rubio and Jason Onye, senior Donovan Hinish and junior Eli- jah Hughes — rotating throughout each game. "You have to have depth, and you have to be able to rotate those guys," Ash said. "Keep them healthy and fresh, and that's what we're trying to establish right now." "Rubio has done a really good job," Freeman said. "Jason Onye, I'm really pleased. … Just the journey he's been on and the way he's been practicing. Hin- ish, he's been a stud. He's done a good job. And then, Elijah and Jared have Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's projection for Notre Dame's 2025 scholarship depth chart on defense after the conclusion of spring practices. Vyper No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 12 Jordan Botelho^ 6-3 261 Gr./1 5 Boubacar Traore^ 6-4 238 Jr./3 44 Junior Tuihalamaka 6-2 254 Sr./2 10 Loghan Thomas 6-4 213 So./4 — Dominik Hulak* 6-4 240 Fr./4 Nose Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 97 Gabriel Rubio 6-5 319 Gr./1 41 Donovan Hinish 6-2 280 Sr./2 59 Sean Sevillano Jr. 6-2 341 So./4 58 Davion Dixon^ 6-2 323 Fr./4 — Joe Reiff* 6-5 255 Fr./4 — Gordy Sulfsted* 6-4 245 Fr./4 Defensive Tackle No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 47 Jason Onye 6-5 308 Gr./1 93 Jared Dawson 6-1 300 Gr./1 88 Armel Mukam 6-3 305 Jr./3 56 Elijah Hughes 6-3 290 Jr./2 17 Brenan Vernon 6-6 293 Jr./3 Field End No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 40 Joshua Burnham 6-4 249 Sr./2 30 Bryce Young 6-7 260 So./3 42 Cole Mullins 6-5 262 So./4 — Christopher Burgess Jr.* 6-3 245 Fr./4 Will Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 3 Jaylen Sneed 6-2 232 Sr./1 27 Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6-3 231 So./3 36 Bodie Kahoun 6-2 229 So./4 — Anthony Sacca* 6-3 225 Fr./4 Mike Linebacker No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 34 Drayk Bowen 6-2 238 Jr./2 19 Madden Faraimo 6-2 224 Fr./4 25 Preston Zinter 6-2 237 Jr./3 43 Kahanu Kia^ 6-2 232 Jr./3 Rover No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 4 Jaiden Ausberry 6-2 222 Jr./3 35 Teddy Rezac 6-3 220 So./4 — Ko'o Kia* 6-1 209 Fr./4 Boundary Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 2 Leonard Moore 6-1 190 So./3 18 Chance Tucker^ 6-0 184 Gr./2 20 Cree Thomas 6-1 186 Fr./4 — Mark Zackery IV* 6-0 170 Fr./4 Field Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 29 Christian Gray 6-0 187 Jr./2 21 Karson Hobbs 6-1 188 So./3 — Dallas Golden* 6-0 180 Fr./4 Slot Cornerback No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 0 DeVonta Smith 5-11 192 Gr./1 21 Karson Hobbs 6-1 188 So./3 13 Ben Minich 6-0 195 Jr./3 Strong Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 8 Adon Shuler 6-0 198 Jr./3 23 Kennedy Urlacher 5-11 195 So./4 13 Ben Minich 6-0 195 Jr./3 31 Taebron Bennie-Powell 6-1 183 So./4 Free Safety No. Player Ht. Wt. Cl./Elig. 7 Jalen Stroman^ 6-1 204 Gr./1 28 Luke Talich 6-4 213 Jr./2 16 Tae Johnson 6-2 193 So./4 11 JaDon Blair 6-5 204 Fr./4 22 Ethan Long 6-2 198 Fr./4 * Will enroll at Notre Dame in the summer ^ Currently injured BGI Post-Spring 2025 Notre Dame Scholarship Depth Chart