Projecting the Notre Dame defensive depth chart following the conclusion of spring practice for the 2025 season

With spring practice firmly in the rear view, Notre Dame football fans are now left to try and be patient until the 2025 college football season finally gets here. Under head coach Marcus Freeman, expectations with this program is at an all time high, and championships are firmly on everyone’s mind. The talent, coaching staff, and aura around South Bend is as healthy as it has been in a long time. 

A lot of the optimism about this team centers around the excellence of the defensive unit. New defensive coordinator Chris Ash has a lot of talent to work with, and it looks like it could be another elite unit in 2025. Here’s an early projection for what the depth chart could look like heading into the opener against the Miami Hurricanes. 

Defensive line

The defensive line has a chance to be really good unit in 2025, but it is very much dependent on the health of that group. At hyper, that is epically true. If both Boubacar Traore and Jordan Botelho are healthy, the expectation is that position could be a major strength for the team. 

If they are healthy, that only strengthens the other defensive end position. A duo of Bryce Young and Joshua Burnham brings a lot of upside, and versatility to the table. There’s a reality where Notre Dame has arguably the best EDGE group in all of college football this fall. 

You should expect a deep rotation on the interior this season. There are two things I remain hopeful for, and one of them is for Gabriel Rubio to shift over to nose tackle after playing mostly three technique a year ago. I’d also like to see Donovan Hinish at three technique, where his size won’t be as big of a limitation, and his pass rush upside can thrive more. 

VYPER - Boubacar Traore (RS So.)

VYPER - Jordan Botelho (Sr.)

DE - Joshua Burnham (RS Jr.)

DE - Bryce Young (So.)

NT - Gabriel Rubio (Sr.)

NT - Jared Dawson (Sr.)

DT - Jason Onye (Sr.)

DT - Donovan Hinish (RS Jr.)

Linebacker

After utilizing a six-man rotation in 2024, we know five linebackers who are going to play a lot after Jack Kiser left for the NFL. The biggest question is going to be whether another player can fit into the rotation, such as true freshman Madden Faraimo. Progress this summer and fall will determine if the rotation goes deeper. 

With Jaylen Sneed now up to around 238 pounds, I would expect him to play a lot more inside after mostly playing rover in his career. I expect him and Jaiden Ausberry to be a bit interchangeable between WILL and rover. Drayk Bowen is also back as the starting MIKE backer. 

While the depth chart might read as Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa backing up Bowen, we are going to see both of them on the field at the same time plenty in 2025. If I was a betting man, I’d wager that Viliamu-Asa ends up playing the second most snaps of this group behind Bowen when all is said and done. 

MIKE - Drayk Bowen (Jr.)

MIKE - Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (So.)

WILL - Jaylen Sneed (RS Jr.)

WILL - Jaiden Ausberry (Jr.)

ROVER - Jaiden Ausberry (Jr.)

ROVER - Jaylen Sneed (RS Jr.)

Secondary

There shouldn’t be a ton of surprises in the secondary. We know, barring injury, that Leonard Moore and Christian Gray will be locking down the starting cornerback spots. We also know that Adon Shuler will be solidified at one safety spot. How the rest of the secondary shapes up, however, is a much bigger question mark.  

With the experience that Virginia Tech transfer brings to the table, I expect him to get every opportunity to start. Don’t be surprised if youngsters like Luke Talich, Brauntae Johnson, and JaDon Blair push for early playing time. Sophomore cornerback Karson Hobbs also feels like the first cornerback off the bench, and could play either cornerback spots, or at nickel. Hobbs should play a lot in 2025. 

For listing context, FC is field cornerback, BC is boundary cornerback, FS is field safety, and BS is boundary safety. 

FC - Christian Gray (Jr.)

FC - Cree Thomas (Fr.)

BC - Leonard Moore (So.)

BC - Karson Hobbs (So.)

FS - Jalen Stroman (Sr.)

FS - Luke Talich (Jr.)

BS - Adon Shuler (Jr.)

BS - Brauntae Johnson (RS Fr.)

NB - DeVonta Smith (Sr.)

NB - Karson Hobbs (So.)