Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 PRESEASON 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED He was a cornerback out of necessity and played only 39 snaps in 2024 af- ter missing much of the regular season with a broken bone in his left foot. And yet in 2025, he amassed 48 tackles in 10 games, tied for fourth on the team, with 3 passes broken up and 4 interceptions. Pro Football Focus graded Johnson as the third-best tackler in the FBS re- gardless of position (91.0 grade). He could make both the routine plays and the spectacular, momentum- changing ones, and he earned FWAA Freshman All-America honors as a red- shirt freshman. 7. LB DRAYK BOWEN Bowen registered the most defensive snaps of any non-defensive back for Notre Dame in 2025. The only reason he didn't have the same title in 2024 was because Jack Kiser barely beat him out. Bowen has been a workhorse from the moment he stepped on campus in 2023. Bowen was a team captain last season, and should be a shoo-in to reclaim that honor this season, and he's still a special teams staple for Notre Dame. It's obvi- ously much more than just being a team guy for Bowen, though. At his best, he's one of the top middle linebackers in the country. Notre Dame's leading tackler is a cross between the big, bad, old-school bully who delivers bone-crunching blows and the new-age LB who can run sideline to sideline and make incredibly athletic plays. 8. LB KYNGSTONN VILIAMU-ASA It's a mental tug-of-war between Viliamu-Asa's encouraging-but-still- imprecise recovery timeline and the projection of what he'll look like when he reaches full health. Per Pro Football Focus, the junior from California's In- land Empire is the top returning line- backer in all of college football and was No. 2 in 2025, behind only Texas Tech unanimous All-American Jacob Rodriguez. Where Viliamu-Asa shows up most prominently in the advanced metrics is his run defense. As the No. 2 run de- fender at any position in college foot- ball last season, he helped Notre Dame improve from No. 49 nationally in rush defense to No. 12 — the Irish's highest ranking in that statistical category since the 2012 national runners-up finished 11th. And because he's also an elite cov- erage linebacker — eighth in the FBS in 2025, per PFF — All-America sta- tus should be an expectation, even with perhaps a staggered start. 9. S ADON SHULER The makeup of Notre Dame's sec- ondary doesn't require Shuler to make flashy plays in coverage. As the leader of the group, he can worry more about preventing big plays than creating them. But that won't stop him from finding opportunities to make big plays of his own, too. Shuler finished second on Notre Dame's defense in tackles with 53 last season, which nearly matched his total of 59 as a 16-game starter in 2024. He added 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 5 passes broken up and 3 tackles for loss as a versatile force. Shuler will likely be named a captain once again, and he can continue to build upon his great chemistry with Johnson on the back end of the defense. Shuler brings a physicality that helps set the tone for the secondary. 10. RB ANEYAS WILLIAMS Williams impressed the heck out of running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider in the spring, when the 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior was supposed to be limited during the 15 Irish practices staged in March and April. Instead, he treated his surgically repaired el- bow like it was a boo-boo, mixing it up in scrimmages even with the "don't touch me" red jersey on. Williams isn't Love or Price, but what he can be for the Irish is the No. 1 Boubacar Traore anchored Notre Dame's pass rush in 2025, totaling 6.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER