If you’re looking for a few nuggets on the Notre Dame defense, Chris Ash isn’t the one who will provide those.
Notre Dame’s new defensive coordinator is keeping things close to the vest, except to make it crystal clear that he’s not here to overhaul the Irish defense.
”This isn't my defense,” stated Ash. “This is the Notre Dame defense, and there's a certain play style that's the only thing that matters. It's not about a call, it's not about a scheme, it's about the mindset of the players, how fast and how violent they play, the fundamentals they play with. The schemes and the calls are the calls. The fundamentals and our play style bring those things to life, and all that is very good right now here.
“They're getting up to speed with what we're trying to do schematically and all the adjustments and things like that, but it's not gonna look really much different than what it's looked in the past.”
While some defensive coordinators arrive with plans to flip the scheme or make drastic changes, Ash didn’t take that route.
Sure, there are some tweaks to the scheme, a few terminology changes and Ash will make the adjustments he sees fit, but overall, the mission has been to simplify things for the players.
“If it's not broken, don't try to fix it,” explained Ash. “We're going to try to make it better. We're trying to elevate it, and that's really what the challenge is because it's already performed at a really high level. If you're afraid of the challenge, don't come here. There’s standards, there's expectations, there's great coaches, there's great players, and we embrace that, and that's what we want.”
Ash spent much of the offseason in the film room, looking for ways to enhance what worked well a year ago. Now that fall camp is underway, he’s been impressed with one thing.
”Just the attitude and the spirit of the guys,” Ash said of what’s stood out in camp. “They come to work every day. They seem to be having a lot of fun doing what they're doing. There's just tremendous chemistry in the whole group, in the small units with the D line, linebackers and DBs. As a unit overall, there's great chemistry, great relationships and these guys have a lot of fun together.”
Ash’s approach in practice has been similar to Al Golden’s and Marcus Freeman’s. He floats around to different position groups, but self-admittedly, Ash ends up around the safeties, which is a position group he’s extremely familiar with.
”I try to get around to all of them,” stated Ash. “Naturally. I gravitate probably more towards the DBs, but I'm going to get around to all of them and just think it's a great opportunity to help coach coaches as well, evaluate drills and interject it here and there.
“If I can help somebody, especially somebody in the back, making sure guys are getting mental reps. I've really enjoyed it. It's been fun. I get a chance to watch guys coach. You got great teachers and great coaches and it's been fun to watch them.”
Perhaps the time spent watching his defensive staff and meeting in the rooms is overlooked. Ash didn’t bring a single position coach to Notre Dame when he took the job in the winter, which is a rarity.
Andy Buh, a senior defensive analyst who is working with the nickels, is essentially the only hire Ash made on the defensive side of the ball.
“It is kind of rare,” Ash said of not hiring a position coach. “Sometimes, most people want to go to a situation, or you bring somebody, or a few people with them, but it's not the first time I've done that. You just go do business the way you do business. Show people you care about them, and they trust you, and you can explain the why of why you want to do something, and it makes sense to them. They're usually going to get on board with those things. If you can’t do those things, they usually won't.”
Notre Dame’s biggest position battle on defense is the safety position. Adon Shuler is the returning starter, but Luke Talich, Tae Johnson and Jalen Stroman are all fighting for a starting spot and playing time.
In the past, Notre Dame went to three safety packages to gain advantages and rotating four safeties certainly isn’t out of the question in 2025.
”I'm not gonna put a number on anything from a rotation for any position,” explained Ash. “The players are gonna earn the right to play. If they've earned the right to play, we'll do what we need to do to get guys out on the field.
“Thankfully, here, we have a lot of depth. I think we have a lot of depth. We have a lot of guys who could become starters. In terms of how many guys are rotating here or there, those things will be determined near the end of camp. Right now, we're giving everybody an opportunity to go out and compete, show us what they can do, and that's really what it is.”
With that said, Ash does know that rotating multiple safeties in a game comes with risk.
”I think it's just that, who you really trust, who can communicate, who can perform under pressure,” said Ash. “That's really what it is and who's instinctive and can make decisions really quick. Those things usually separate people. And again, time will tell where we're at with that with all of our guys.
“They're all getting better in those areas, but it is a little bit different. That position's different than the D line or even at linebacker. You gotta trust guys back there. They’re safeties for a reason, their last line of defense. They gotta be great fundamentally, be able to make plays of space, plays on the ball, but it's more about getting guys lined up and making adjustments.”
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