Notre Dame Football

Notre Dame Senior Day Will Be Special for Ademilola Twins

By Matt Freeman

November 18, 2022

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Senior Day.

It’s an emotional and memorable day for most athletes. A chapter is closing and while Notre Dame will have a trip to Southern Cal on the horizon, Saturday afternoon will be one for the books for the Ademilola family.

Defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola will play his final game inside Notre Dame Stadium and he’ll be celebrating the last five years when he runs out of the tunnel for the final time.

“I know I’m just super grateful to have the opportunity to even be here at Notre Dame and especially being here for a fifth year,” Ademilola said. “It’s just a time to celebrate for this team, this program, myself, my family. It’s just going to be a great moment.”

Defensive end Justin Ademilola is in a bit of a different place as he still has another year of eligibility available if he wants it.

“I didn’t really decide yet what I was going to do with that year yet,” Ademilola stated. “But right now, I’m just focusing on BC then USC then hopefully a bowl game after the season.”

While Ademilola might not have a final decision made, the New Jersey native is focused on making sure his twin and the other seniors leave Notre Dame Stadium with a win.

“It’s an exciting week for the seniors — for everyone on the team really,” explained Ademilola. “The young guys said this week that they wanted to send the seniors out the right way. We’re going to make sure we do everything the right way and make sure we’re smiling after the game.”

It’s rare for brothers to play together at this level, but twins playing at Notre Dame is a incredibly rare air.

The opportunity hasn’t been lost on the Ademilola twins as they’ve started to realize playing side-by-side is coming to an end.

“It’s great,” stated Jayson Ademilola. “It probably won’t even hit us until we’re 40, but we’re living the dream right now. How many twins could play football, how many brothers could play football together, let alone stick out, be at it for five years at Notre Dame? But then again, we’ve been doing it our whole life, being together.”

2022 hasn’t gone exactly how Ademilola wanted it go when he decided to pass on entering the NFL Draft last winter, but he’s also learned perspective over the last three months.

Saturday will be an opportunity to play for his brothers, but also make sure he personally goes out on a good note.

“Honestly, for the guys in the locker room, for everything that we’ve put, everything we’ve really been through,” Jayson Ademilola stated. “I always tell myself this year is very different, and it’s different for many different reasons, but it’s also different for myself. As I finish up this last stretch here at Notre Dame, it’s a lot to play for but you have to always tell yourself, yeah, sometimes it’s OK to play for yourself. You deserve to pat yourself on the back.

“That’s what I’m doing, and I’m doing it with a big smile. If there’s anything I would remember, I’m for sure going to remember my last two games. Maybe not the whole season, but I’m going to remember my last two games.”

Notre Dame’s November winning streak of 18 games is also a point of pride for the Ademilola twins. They haven’t experienced defeat in November and they want to keep it that way.

“Really winning in November just comes down to execution,” explained Justin Ademilola. “We take pride in that here. Coach Freeman’s always talking about November’s going to be the hardest part. We to execute. We have to do everything with urgency. So as long as we keep on doing things with urgency, executing and doing our job, we’ll be able to win in November.”

And before he takes the field for the final time, Jayson will take a deep breath and embrace the moment.

“My time at Notre Dame meant a lot,” said Jayson Ademilola. “Through all the different challenges and obstacles, it’s a sense of renewal. When it’s all said and done, you know you made it through all the bumps in the road. You took a deep breath and you allowed yourself to refocus and understand, hey, where I’m at right now and where I’m going – honestly, the memories I think about each and every day, from the first day I came on campus to now, every single day I remember each second of this campus.

“It’s been great.”