Notre Dame football defenders who hold the biggest key to victory in the home opening matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and head coach Marcus Freeman are set to welcome the Texas A&M Aggies to South Bend this Saturday night. The Irish enter the contest at 0-1, while the Aggies are 2-0 after victories over UTSA and Utah State. This is a huge game for Coach Freeman and his squad. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his unit will need to have a big performance against a dangerous Texas A&M offense.

Let's get something out of the way: There are a few things that worry me with the Irish defense in this matchup. It is a prerequisite for the Notre Dame defensive line to play well in any game, this one included. Here are the players who need to step up most defensively for the Irish to capture a victory.

The nickel position 

It was a very concerning first outing from the new look nickel position during the Miami game. Sophomore Karson Hobbs struggled mightily against true freshman Malachi Toney, as did former Alabama transfer DeVonta Smith. While Toney was impressive during that contest, former NC State transfer Kevin "KC" Concepcion is an even bigger test. The nickel spot will have to be much more consistent for the Fighting Irish to kick off their home games with a victory. Depending on how they play will most likely foreshadow the outcome of this contest.

CB Christian Gray 

From a positional perspective, Gray is the starting field receiver for the Notre Dame defense. That means that he will see a lot of former Mississippi State speedster Mario Craver and former NC State star Kevin Concepcion, both of whom are dynamic weapons in space. Concepcion wins with his quickness and route running, while Craver is going to excel at uncovering down the field. Gray has had a bad habit of holding the further he gets down the field, so Craver will be a major test. Gray is going to need to play a clean game, at least as clean as he possibly can.

LB Drayk Bowen 

After an optimistic offseason, Bowen did not have the best of games down in Hard Rock Stadium. He consistently got stuck on blocks and wasn't able to finish many plays. The eight total tackles that Bowen finished with felt very hollow. There was an intention for Bowen to lose some weight this offseason, but there is a chance that it could have hurt his overall power in the running game. That is what made Bowen so good at times last year, and it will need to show back up against the Aggie running attack.

S Adon Shuler 

Shuler had a game to forget against the Miami Hurricanes, which was highlighted during the miraculous touchdown reception by wide receiver CJ Daniels. The New Jersey native established a reputation for creating big plays in 2024 as a first-year starter. He is going to need to make some timely plays on Saturday night against the Aggies. I expect No. 8 to be all over the field, and the Notre Dame defense will need him to be.