Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 SEPT. 19, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame Down Two Defensive Stalwarts, But Both Are Expected To Return This Season Two key defensive starters left Notre Dame's victory over Wisconsin Sept. 6 with apparent injuries and will be sidelined indefinitely. However, neither injury is considered to be season ending. Both sixth-year defensive tackle Jason Onye and junior safety Brauntae Johnson departed to the locker room during the first half, and both were ruled out early in the second half against the Badgers. Both Onye and Johnson were spotted on the sideline wearing walking boots on their left feet. Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said Sept. 8 that Onye sustained an ankle injury, while Johnson injured his foot. Both missed Week 2 against Rice and will likely be out longer than that, but neither injury is believed to be one that will cost them the entire season. "Tae and Jason will be out a couple weeks," Freeman said. "We expect them back at some point in the season, but they're not going to be back next week. It's going to be a couple weeks, and so that's why you have depth." Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 41-13, outscoring the Badgers 28-3 in the second half despite losing Onye and Johnson. Before his early exit, Johnson recorded 1 solo tackle and 1 pass broken up that could've become an interception if he were able to secure it. Onye also registered 1 tackle prior to his departure. The Irish were also without star junior linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, who was ruled out pregame against Wisconsin after being listed as questionable on the official injury report. Viliamu-Asa returned in Week 2 against Rice, playing for the first time since his torn ACL in November. Notre Dame should be able to manage its upcoming schedule even without Johnson and Onye. After the Rice game, the Irish face Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina and Stanford, respectively. The first team that should legitimately challenge Notre Dame is BYU Oct. 17. Junior Francis Brewu, a transfer from Pitt, and sophomore Tionne Gray, a transfer from Oregon, will likely see their workloads increase in Onye's absence. Both had terrific Notre Dame debuts, with Brewu registering 4 quarterback pressures and picking up his first sack in an Irish uniform. Gray, despite play- ing only 18 snaps, notched 5 tackles. "Tionne and Francis both played well," Freeman said. "They played really well on Sunday. We have to continue to get them to practice with the habits that we really will emphasize, but it was great to see them, and those guys both were difference makers." Luke Talich is set to replace Johnson, and the Irish have the utmost trust in the senior safety from Wyoming. "We view Luke Talich as a starter," Freeman said. "He might not be the first one on the field, but the confidence we have in Luke Talich is extremely high." — Jack Soble CLARITY AT RIGHT GUARD, EVEN MORE CLARITY AT LEFT GUARD Notre Dame listed its starting right guard as Sul- livan Absher or Styles Prescod on its official depth chart as the season opened Sept. 6. The latter, a junior making his first college start, went out first against Wisconsin. The former played the second half. In the opinion of many, as well as Tengwall, Absher's performance was better and it was not particularly close. Pro Football Focus agreed, grading Absher at 74.9 overall and Prescod at 47.6. Absher's grade was second among offensive players, while Prescod's was tied for last. College football analyst Landon Tengwall broke down multiple examples in which Prescod let the defensive tackle cross his face on a reach block when the Irish tried to run outside zone to the left, and said the defensive tackle often blew up the play. On Williams' second score, Absher did the exact opposite. "Let Sullivan Absher show you how it's done," Tengwall said. "Completely wall this thing off and then just take it vertical, and then Aneyas Williams has a bodyguard right here in Sullivan Absher, just delivering him into the end zone. It doesn't get much better than that." Notre Dame's plan at right guard, head coach Marcus Freeman explained, was for both Prescod and Absher to play around 30 snaps. Prescod logged 33 snaps, while Absher logged 31. The logic, Freeman explained, was that the Irish thought both were better equipped to play well under those circumstances. "They are consistent for this amount of plays right now," Freeman said. "They're both really good when they're right around 30-something plays." Freeman did not say which of the two he thought was better, saying "both of them played extremely well." Notre Dame determined its plan for the Sept. 12 game against Rice during the week of practice, but he did say, "We have some initial thoughts." From an outsider's perspective, Absher's play against Wisconsin gave him the upper hand. What is not up for debate, however, is the play of junior guard Anthonie Knapp. He was PFF's highest- graded Notre Dame offensive player at 78.2 versus Wisconsin, and Tengwall said he looks like the best guard in the country. He was mauling the Badgers in the run game, often winding up on top of his defender. Freeman loves Knapp, and he compared his prac- tice habits to unanimous All-American and top-five NFL Draft pick Joe Alt. "I love Knapp Daddy, man," Freeman said. "The majority of guys, normal guys, they're like, 'OK, I got to go practice. We got to go.' You got to talk to yourself and you got to make yourself go. That's what normal people do. Then you get your guys like Joe Alt and Knapp who love it, that know how important it is. Man, he is a heck of a football player." — Jack Soble Junior safety Brauntae Johnson (No. 9) injured his left foot in the first half of the Wisconsin game and is expected to be out "a couple of weeks." PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER