Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543321
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2026 31 BY TYLER HORKA T here is no downplaying how much Max Bullough meant to the success of Notre Dame's linebacking unit for the entire time he worked with it. A Nick Saban disciple when he arrived in South Bend in 2023 after spending three seasons as a graduate assistant at Alabama, winning a national cham- pionship in the first of those, Bullough brought a no-nonsense coach- ing style to Notre Dame that translated to hard-nosed football each and every Saturday. That's what Michigan State is getting in the hiring of the Spartan alum. His presence will be missed at Notre Dame. But it won't be forgotten. New Fighting Irish linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary inherits all four main contributors from Bullough's 2025 group. He'll want to eventually put his own stamp on the position, and rightfully so. But in his first year, he'll have access to an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach if he wants to employ it. And he should most definitely want to employ it. There's an NFL-level talent in KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA. There's a Manti Te'o type of leader in 2025 team captain Drayk Bowen. There are two selfless depth pieces in Jaiden Ausberry and Jay- len Sneed, each of whom has the goods to transfer elsewhere and be the No. 1 guy for another team. Instead, they have chosen to stay at Notre Dame to be a part of an operation that is one of the best in the nation. Seriously, from one through four, what program in college football has a better linebacker quartet than Notre Dame? It'd be tough to find one. All four players were instrumental in Notre Dame making it to the national championship game in the 2024 season. Two years later, all four are even better players than they were then. And they're all much more moti- vated, too. This is the last season of Bowen and Sneed's college careers. Viliamu-Asa could feasibly be off to the NFL. Ausberry only has one more year of eligibility be- yond 2026. It is now or never for a Notre Dame line- backer contingent that has been through so much together. That is a scary reality for every opposing offense on the Irish schedule. ✦ PERSONNEL UPDATE Position Coach: Brian Jean-Mary (1st season) Returning Starters: Drayk Bowen (28 ca- reer starts) and Jaiden Ausberry (12) Projected New Starter: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (3) Returning Reserves: Madden Faraimo, Kahanu Kia, Ko'o Kia, Teddy Rezac and Jaylen Sneed (11) Departing Players: Bodie Kahoun and Anthony Sacca Transferred In: None Transferred Out: Kahoun to Boston College and Sacca to UCLA Incoming Freshmen: Ja'Kobe Clapper and Thomas Davis Jr. 2025 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W 2026 S P R I N G F O O T B A L L O V E R V I E W POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH WHO STARTS ALONGSIDE BOWEN? Notre Dame invested heavily in Jaiden Aus- berry as Drayk Bowen's running mate in 2025. Ausberry was the Irish's primary starter at Will linebacker. There is every reason to believe that's the way Notre Dame will run it back in 2026, but with such a wealth of riches and options it'll be worth monitoring early in the spring if that's the direction the team is going again after all. LINEBACKERS NUMBERS TO KNOW 4 Fo rc e d f u m b l e s i n the career of Drayk Bowen, putting him three away from tying the all-time Notre Dame record. He had 3 in the 2024 season, so 3 more in 2026 is not out of the realm of possibility. 18 Quarterback hurries for Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa in 2025, tied for the most among all Power Four linebackers. That also tied him for second with Bryce Young among every player on the Notre Dame roster, trailing only Donovan Hinish's 21. 94.0 Pro Football Focus run defense grade for Viliamu-Asa in 2025. That was No. 2 among all FBS linebackers behind only Butkus Award-winner Jacob Rodriguez of Texas Tech. ALL EYES ON … SENIOR DRAYK BOWEN Bowen is to the 2026 Notre Dame linebacker room what the likes of JD Bertrand, Marist Liufau and Jack Kiser were to previous iterations of it. Never take for granted a guy who has poured his heart and soul into a program year after year. When Irish teammates look up and see No. 34 readying for war, there's a sense of comfort derived from such a sight. Notre Dame's linebacking functionality is in a sound spot with Bowen calling the shots. He's that steady of a factor for the Fighting Irish. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER