Notre Dame’s defensive line will be one of the deepest in the country entering the 2025 campaign.
It’s a rare statement to make about the Irish program, but last year’s adversity has led to depth and valuable experience in Al Washington’s room.
The biggest question coming out of the room surrounds the health of sixth-year defensive end Jordan Botelho, who suffered a pectoral injury off campus during the offseason.
Even without Botelho at full strength, new defensive coordinator Chris Ash has no shortage of edge options. Veterans Joshua Burnham and Junior Tuihalamaka bring leadership and experience, while junior Boubacar Traore and sophomore Bryce Young flashed star potential last fall, adding talent and competition to the rotation.
Ash didn’t do too much off-campus recruiting in the offseason as he was self-scouting to familiarize himself with the roster, but also to find where he could help enhance one of the nation’s top defenses.
“I spent a lot of time by myself post-spring of going through that, taking notes,” explained Ash. “When we all got back together after recruiting, we'd been going back through and talking about the list of things that I saw, picking their brains and getting their opinions on what they saw with their particular groups. Then we kind of formulated a game plan to attack some of those things here this summer and not wait till training camp.”
One of the more notable changes implemented by Ash is the elimination of the traditional strongside and weakside defensive end roles. Instead, Notre Dame will use left and right defensive ends.
It’s a subtle adjustment that may not be immediately apparent to most fans, but could produce significant dividends in execution and versatility.
“There are a lot of factors that play into that,” stated Ash. “First of all, you look at the players. Is there a difference in their ability? Are you asking guys to do something different? When we really looked at last season and what we're looking to do, no, there's not. There are a lot of similar abilities there.
“Then you look at how you can get lined up quickly against teams that go really fast. Going left and right is the easiest thing to do. They don't have to worry about where's the field, where's the boundary, where's the open side, the closed side, so that's another part of it.”
It will also allow Notre Dame to potentially find mismatches off the edge. Ash spent two seasons with the Raiders, and it likely led to a different way of thinking, watching All-Pro Maxx Crosby.
Crosby has totaled 59.5 sacks during his first six years in the league and is known as one of the NFL’s elite pass rushers. Las Vegas rushes him almost exclusively against the right tackle, which is a little different than most elite edge rushers, who work against the left tackle and the quarterback’s blindside (in most cases).
“You look at the match-ups,” Ash explained. “Is there a reason to put a particular player to this side or that side or this position to exploit a possible mismatch? We looked at all of those things as we were trying to make a decision.
“That looked like an opportunity to enhance the play of a particular position by doing that. And so far, so good. They really have enjoyed it. There haven't been any real hiccups or struggles with it. All the feedback that I was given at the end of the spring from the players, they really enjoyed it and thought it was better.”
The move gives Notre Dame the flexibility not only to find the best matchup but also to evolve week to week, keeping opponents off balance. For example, Miami’s right tackle, Francis Mauigoa, is likely to be a top 5 pick in next year’s NFL Draft. Notre Dame could now matchup its best edge rushers against him or try to pick on the left tackle.
At the end of the day, it’s still on the players to produce and win those battles in the trenches, but the small changes Ash is making could appear to be smart ones by putting his players in strong positions to find success.
“There's no exact formula,” said Ash. “It's what you feel you can do best, you continue to enhance it. The areas that you need to improve on, you find a way to formulate a plan to get that done. You don't just keep doing the things that you do well or just focus on the things that you're not doing well.”
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