Jason Onye Wants Notre Dame DL to Set Tone
Patience is a theme for this Notre Dame team. The roster is filled with players who had to wait for their opportunity for various reasons, which you hear about less and less with the Transfer Portal.
Notre Dame senior Jason Onye played 155 snaps in 2023, so his ascension isn’t necessarily a surprise, but he’s quickly become a key clog on the Irish defensive line.
The 6-foot-5, 291-pounder leads the Irish in sacks with 1.5 and was a menace last Saturday during Notre Dame’s 66-7 win over Purdue. Onye will now look to find consistency to earn more playing time.
“I feel like when I play fast and play violent, there's not too much stopping me from the quarterback or stopping me from the ball,” stated Onye. “I must continue to do that and it starts in practice. Practice is what leads to good Saturdays.”
Al Washington’s defensive line has a wealth of experience and the unit is counted on to set the tone for each game. That will be essential on Saturday as Miami (OH) has struggled with offensive line play early in the season.
“We just know that it starts with us,” Onye explained. “I feel like we bring the energy to practice. We obviously practice a lot. We just thought now it's time to bring the energy to the game. Come (out) fast. Boubacar (Traore) had a touchdown. I was like, 'Okay, Boubacar is balling, I'm gonna go in there and ball.' JB (Jordan Botelho) gets hurt and that's even more motivation for us just to go in and play and set the tone.”
The Botelho injury hit the defensive line room hard as he was a player who had not only put in the time to have a big season, but stuck around the program despite not seeing a ton of reps early in his career.
“It’s incredibly sad,” said Onye. “Jordan is one of my best friends and closest friends since I’ve been here when Myron (Tagovailoa-Amosa), Kurt (Hinish) and all those boys were here. It’s sad to see what happened to him, but we’re as motivated as ever now to play fast and do it for him. We know if he was on the field, he would be right there with us. We’re motivated for him and playing the rest of the season for Jordan.”
Notre Dame does have depth on the defensive line and it could lead to some young guys seeing more playing time or even moving around to find the best roles in subpackages with Botelho’s absence.
Freshmen defensive ends Loghan Thomas and Bryce Young have impressed Onye and both appear to be headed toward more significant roles in the coming weeks.
“They're going to be great,” Onye stated. “They're big, they're young, they're smart, fast, all the things. I feel like they're going to be great once they get going. But it's just exciting. I was able to be in the game with them, kind of help them out. They were flying to the ball, had some production, and that's really fun to see.”
The return of defensive tackle Gabe Rubio will be another boost to the defensive line room. The St. Louis native broke his foot during fall camp, and it appears Rubio will return to the field sooner rather than later.
“Rubio's gonna be back very soon,” Onye explained. “He's my roommate, one of my best friends. I'm excited to see him and how he's progressing through rehab. It was so exciting to have that first day of camp with him, and then have that first few periods of camp with him, and then whenever he got hurt. That was unfortunate, but I'm excited to see him come back and play with him. I'm just excited. He's doing better now.”
Notre Dame will now look to get on a roll following last week’s statement win and the season will likely be defined by the Irish maintaining good practice habits over the next 2.5 months.
“I would say the main thing that's perfect for the season is just being in practice, just seeing different looks, being in different positions, being at end, being at tackle,” said Onye. “Whatever happens in the game, being able to adjust, and being able to feel like I'm confident in myself. My team is confident in themselves because we feel it all during practice.”
Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD
Under Armour White Notre Dame Fighting Irish Infinite Elite Running Shoes
