Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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60 NOV. 8, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED N o t re D a m e l i n e b a c k e rs coach Max Bullough didn't want to take any credit away from the Irish defensive line. Bullough, who is in his third season at Notre Dame, respects the pass rushing talent of Notre Dame's defensive ends and de- fensive tackles. But at the same time, it's clear how important the Irish linebackers have been in es- tablishing a more consistent pass rush this season. "We take a lot of pride in it," Bullough said. "We want to affect the game in any way we can." There's no doubt that redshirt sophomore defensive end Bou- bacar Traore, who recorded 6.5 sacks in the first seven games, is Notre Dame's best pass rusher. But Bullough believes redshirt ju- nior linebacker Jaylen Sneed and sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa belong on the list of the team's best pass rushers, as well. That's why at least one of them tends to be on the field on third down. Pro Football Focus backs up Bullough's belief and even grades junior linebacker Drayk Bowen as one of the team's best pass rushers, too. PFF uses a formula shortened to "PRP" to measure pass-rush productivity, which combines sacks, hits and hurries rela- tive to pass rush snaps. Among Notre Dame players with at least 30 pass rush snaps in the first seven games, the top three PRPs belonged to Sneed (14.5), Bowen (13.3) and Viliamu-Asa (12.3). For comparison, Traore had a 7.9 PRP with 19 pressures on 181 pass rushes. Sneed generated 7 pressures on 32 pass rushes. Bowen created 10 pressures on 49 pass rushes. Viliamu-Asa accounted for 15 pressures, the fourth-highest total on the team, on 73 pass rushes. "It's a huge part of our room," Bullough said. "First and second down, we run a lot of little linebacker plugs with the other guy going. We try to take a lot of that on our shoulders. First and second down, we're ripping it. "On third down, there's three of us on the field most of time. We have to do something." After Notre Dame's first three games of the season, the Irish defense was ranked No. 105 out of 134 FBS teams in team sacks with 1.33 per game. Those 4 sacks came from Traore (2), sophomore defensive end Bryce Young (1), redshirt senior defensive tackle Gabriel Rubio (0.5) and redshirt junior defensive tackle Donovan Hinish (0.5). The linebackers helped change Notre Dame's pass rush production. The de- fense tallied 13 sacks in the next four games. Irish linebackers accounted for 5.5 of them: Sneed (2), Viliamu-Asa (1.5), Bowen (1) and redshirt sophomore Jaiden Ausberry (1). Entering the Boston College game, Notre Dame was ranked No. 33 in the FBS with 2.43 sacks per game. The pass rush impact of Notre Dame's linebackers simply can't be ignored. De fe n s ive co o rd i n a to r C h r i s Ash has done a nice job of mak- ing sure they're involved in the pass-rush plan on a weekly basis. Whether it's lining up Sneed and/ or Viliamu-Asa in edge-rushing positions or blitzing Bowen up the middle, the results have been clear. The scheme doesn't get all the credit. Those linebackers have embraced the challenge, sharp- ened the schemes and played with determination in finding more ways to impact the game. "I think I've been relentless in my pursuit to the ball," Viliamu- Asa said in October, "whether I'm rushing the back or rushing off the edge. If I get tackled on the play, I'm up, and I'm chasing after the ball every play." Versus Navy, the lineback- ers will be more occupied with shutting down the triple-option attack rather than rushing the pa sse r. T h e M i d s h i p m e n a l - lowed just 2 sacks in their first seven games. But Notre Dame's final three games of the regular season will be against teams who ended October ranked among the 30 worst teams in sacks allowed per game: Pittsburgh (3.0) Nov. 15, Syracuse (2.5) Nov. 22 and Stanford (3.0) Nov. 29. Because Notre Dame rotates its line- backers so frequently, Bullough always has fresh options to put into the game. There's a method to the madness in terms of who is playing, even when it may be hard to track outside of the program. "It's hard to take any of the guys out that are on a roll, and any one of those guys is able to get on a roll," Bullough said. "That's what's been fun about this. I play the hot hand. You have to play the guys that aren't going to get tired, too, but you have to sub them out some. That's been the magic in this whole thing and what I've taken pride in behind the scenes." ✦ Through seven games, redshirt junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed had 7 pressures and 2 sacks in 32 pass rush situations. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Irish Linebackers Impact Pass Rush Tyler James has been covering Notre Dame athletics since 2011. He can be reached on X @ TJamesND FIRST AND LAST TYLER JAMES