‘It’s never going to be enough’ - Notre Dame standout defender reflects on early season struggles for the Fighting Irish defense

If you have watched the Notre Dame defense during the first three games of the 2025 college football season, it is highly likely that you have high blood pressure and a ton of frustrations for the start of the year so far. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash is already getting heat from the Fighting Irish fan base for their early performance, and deservedly so. He inherited an elite defensive unit under Al Golden, and it has morphed into one of the worst groups in all of college football so far in 2025.

While fans hope and wait for much-needed improvement, the Notre Dame players are busy working hard behind the scenes. That includes junior linebacker Jaiden Ausberry, who is one of their more versatile defenders. The 6-2, 228-pound linebacker has managed to collect 13 total tackles, but has been absent of impact plays. Ausberry is way too fast and impactful not to make some big plays like we saw a year ago, which again comes back to your defensive playcaller.

The Louisiana native spoke to the media on Tuesday in preparation for their matchup this week against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ausberry was asked about the early-season struggles, as well as his own progress. Here is what Ausberry said about the latter.

"My coverage is still one of my strengths," Ausberry told the media. "I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better in the run game given that I gained a lot of weight this offseason. For me, I’m never going to be satisfied. I feel like there are things I can always get better at, even the little things that I think I’m doing perfectly. It’s never perfect. For me personally, I always want to get better. I always want to find the little stuff I can get better at so it’s never going to be enough for me personally."

For the sake of Notre Dame's defense, Ausberry will need to be a more impactful player. When he has been put into good positions to make plays, especially under Coach Golden, he has had a propensity to make some big plays. We just haven't seen that in 2025, but it needs to change moving forward. The diversity that he brings as a football player is something you need to learn more into.

As people continue to debate whether this is more of a coaching or player issue, most Notre Dame fans don't care as long as they find potential fixes. The contest against Arkansas is going to tell a lot, facing off against an explosive offense that can make a lot of big plays. Look out for No. 4 to be making more plays on Saturday.