Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 MAY 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED done a good job — and on down." The Irish added Dawson, who had a fantastic Blue-Gold Game, and Hughes from the transfer portal (Louisville and USC, respectively). They brought back Rubio and Hinish, both of whom made heavy contributions in the Col- lege Football Playoff. The two returners complement each other well, with Ru- bio excelling in the run game and Hin- ish serving as Notre Dame's best pass- rushing defensive tackle with 4 sacks on or after Nov. 9. The surprise, though, is Onye's re- emergence. "One that's changed me as a person," Washington said. "And I can't even ex- press how proud I am of that kid." Onye missed October, November, De- cember and January last season with a personal matter that Freeman described as a "mental health injury." One could be forgiven for assuming he had played his final snap in a Notre Dame uniform. Against all odds, he had not. "I love Jason," Washington said. "Me and him will be close for the rest of our lives. I feel like that about a lot of my players, but Jason, I've got a lot of re- spect for him." Not only did Onye come back, but he returned to the facility at 308 pounds of good weight. Entering his fifth season, the new and improved Onye ran with the first team during spring practice and dominated Notre Dame's April 5 scrimmage. "Jason is different," Washington said. "He's doing a phenomenal job this spring, and he left on a high note. He's picking back up on a high note." SNEED'S PROGRESS LOOKS VERY REAL Jadarian Price had no chance. The play was dead in the water, and Jaylen Sneed killed it. The senior running back caught a swing pass from junior quarterback Kenny Minchey during the April 5 scrimmage, but Sneed recognized it right away. By the time Price caught the ball, the senior linebacker had taken away all his wiggle room. All Price could do was protect the football and live to fight another play as Sneed took him down for a tackle for loss. At the end of last season, Freeman admitted after the April 5 scrimmage, Sneed was unsure whether he wanted to spend his fourth season in South Bend. He chose to return, and that decision is paying off for both parties. The former five-star prospect from Hilton Head, S.C., was all over the field throughout the scrimmage, and Free- man said that wasn't a one-off. "I'll say this — that this is the best spring in my four years being here with Jaylen that he's had," Freeman said. "He's practicing at a level in terms of the fundamentals, the details, the en- ergy — that it takes to be a great player." Sneed worked as Notre Dame's first- team Will linebacker on April 5, play- ing next to junior Drayk Bowen at Mike. Bowen, a returning starter and a strong candidate for captaincy, is locked into the starting lineup. Many, including this outlet, expected sophomore Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa to pass Sneed and start alongside Bowen at Will. That could still happen — and whoever doesn't start will still receive ample playing time — but Sneed has given himself a real shot to be an ev- ery-game starter for the first time in his Notre Dame career. He transformed his body over the off- season, now being listed at 6-foot-2, 232 pounds. He was never consis- tently over 220, linebackers coach Max Bullough explained, throughout the rest of his time with the Irish. Bullough believes those 10 to 15 pounds changed everything. "It's completely transformed what Jaylen Sneed can be," Bullough said. "It's transformed his ceiling. It's made him into really what I think he's viewed himself as his whole life. And that's as good as it gets." Sneed needed the extra weight to take on blocks more effectively, which he has to do as an inside linebacker. He was originally brought in to play the rover position, a spot which, in a 4-2-5 world, isn't nearly as significant as it was five years ago when he was recruited. Defensive tackle Jason Onye, who missed the final three months of the 2024 season, returned this spring at 308 pounds of good weight, ran with the first team and dominated Notre Dame's April 5 scrimmage. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER