Spring Ball Preview | Defensive End

A team can never have enough good defensive linemen. That’s something every college football program can agree with because no other position rotates as many players on a football team than the defensive line.

It’s a really good thing for Notre Dame that they have so many options at defensive end this spring. In total they should have 10 healthy edge defenders available to them with one player, Vyper Osita Ekwonu, likely still getting back to full strength after tearing his Achilles tendon last summer.

Even without Ekwonu and Kahanu Kia gone on a two-year mission, the Irish are projected to have five players competing at Vyper. It all starts with Isaiah Foskey, who is coming off of a breakout season where he finished with double digit sacks. He’s one of the top returning edge rushers in college football, but the scary part is that he still has room to be even better.

There’s a level of dominance he hasn’t reached yet and if he does, he’s going to be a first round pick next spring. That can all start this spring with him leading the way at the position.

Things get more interesting behind him on the depth chart. Justin Ademilola was solid last year and was elevated to playing with the top sub-package group up front. There’s a lot to like about where he took his game last season. He wasn’t good enough for that spot to be safe heading into this year, though. We’ll see if Jordan Botelho can push him there.

If that is to happen, Botelho needs to have a great spring. It has to be about consistency and discipline with him because the talent is there. It’s a significant opportunity for him with a new coach in Al Washington.

The ideal scenario is that both of them are battling it out to the point where both look like they need to be on the field more. Then the question becomes whether or not they and Foskey are the best three edge defenders on the team and if Marcus Freeman and Al Golden have to move one of them or tweak the scheme to get each on the field more often.

That’s just the top three at Vyper. There’s still Will Schweitzer who redshirted last season. The reality for him is that he is going to need to make a leap this offseason because early enrollee Aiden Gobaira is also expected to compete at Vyper, though his long term future may be at the other end.

For Schweitzer, it’s about physical development and where he’s at from that perspective. For Gobaira, it will simply be exciting to see whether or not a player with his potential might show he is closer to forcing his way onto the field than most true freshmen.

There’s uncertainty on the other side of the defensive line, which is why Rylie Mills’ move there in the Virginia game last season might become permanent this spring. Doing that makes the Irish not as deep inside, though, and there are some other moves they could make.

It will be interesting to see if Mills moving is a spring experiment that works out, but wherever he plays, he has the potential to develop into a force. He can be better against the run, but his ceiling as an interior pass rusher is sky high.

Neither NaNa Osafo-Mensah or Alex Ehrensberger were impressive enough in 2021 for them to be penciled in as starters, which is why a move from Mills or a Vyper makes sense. This spring is going to be critical for both of them to show they are ready to step forward.

Jason Onye is an enigma headed into March. He was looked at as a project when he signed with Notre Dame and we didn’t see very much of him last August in fall camp. It would be surprising if he surged up the depth chart, but nothing is set in stone in front of him.

That leaves another talented early enrollee, Tyson Ford. It’s a lot to ask a true freshman defensive lineman to play early and Ford may ultimately line up inside as a 3-technique defensive tackle. He could make some noise and push to be in the rotation this season. That process can start this spring. Him and Gobaira are up there as the most intriguing early enrollees to watch this March and April.