Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2026 21 BY TYLER HORKA O ne of the most telling quotes of Notre Dame's offseason came from defensive coordinator Chris Ash: "I know what they need, and last year I didn't." More specifically, "This year I know what each individual needs from a coaching standpoint, what we need to focus on and make sure we emphasize." That's a pretty important thing for a defensive coordinator to know for all of his players. It's a remarkably transparent admis- sion from Ash about last year. He essen- tially said, hey, we didn't exactly have all of our people rowing in the same di- rection at the beginning of the 2025 sea- son. That was evidenced in averages of 32.7 points and 402 yards surrendered in Notre Dame's first three games of the year, losses to Miami and Texas A&M and a high-scoring victory over Purdue. In the final nine games of the season, Ash's defense — albeit facing teams not nearly as potent as the Hurricanes and Aggies — averaged 12.6 points and 284 yards allowed per game. His group fig- ured it out. He figured out his group. "Everybody had some sort of an issue last year, and we want to make sure last year's problems are not today's prob- lems," Ash said. "If they are, then we're not getting the players better. So, I know what those are. I didn't at this point last year, so it helps me out a lot." These are some of the main things Ash needs to continue taking into ac- count through preseason camp with the regular season rapidly approaching. 1. Is Christian Gray The Answer At Nickel? Christian Gray spent the spring steadfastly honing his craft as a slot corner, seemingly content with moving over after two years as a starter at field corner. He sounded adamant that even more plays will come from him lining up at the nickel spot. "I think nickel is going to be really it for me," he said in April. New Notre Dame defensive backs coach Aaron Henry is still going to have ALL THE ANSWERS Notre Dame's defense should be much more polished in Chris Ash's second season as defensive coordinator Christian Gray has spent two seasons as a starter at field corner, but can he make even more plays from a different position in the defensive backfield? PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP