Notre Dame’s defensive line enters 2025 as one of the deepest in the nation, and while captain Donovan Hinish leads the group, the breakout story of fall camp has been senior Jason Onye.
The 6-foot-5, 302-pounder returned to the program in the spring after stepping away from the team after five games for personal reasons.
Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman wasn’t bashful to give praise to Onye over the weekend following Notre Dame’s final practice of fall camp.
”He’s had as good of a camp as I’ve seen in my four years,” stated Freeman. “He’s just a reminder of development. Not everybody’s going to come in here and be an All-American as a freshman. If you believe in them and work with them, they can develop into something really good.”
Freeman praised Onye not just for his on-field progress but also for the resilience it took to come back, which included earning the trust of the staff and his teammates.
“To show this community and this staff and this university that surrounded him with resources to help him and to see how he’s playing now, I know he’s going to do great things for us in football, but the story shouldn’t be that,” Freeman explained. “The story should be is how he overcame adversity and has developed in his four years here. He’s going to do a really good job for us this year.”
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash was unaware of Onye’s battles off the field when he arrived in South Bend in the winter.
Ash quickly became aware of Onye’s story as the Rhode Island native went out of his way to explain what happened and where he wanted to go.
“When I first got here, I met with every defensive player individually and I didn't know Jason's story,” Ash recalled. “I didn't know the history of Jason and what he's gone through, and he told me. Right away, I was really impressed that he was willing to open up and tell me what he's gone through to get back to where he is right now.
“Starting last spring, he was a completely different kid and he showed up with a positive attitude, really just willing to work every single day.”
Onye brings 19 games of experience into the season with career totals of 15 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks.
While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Notre Dame’s staff is more encouraged by his development into a reliable, disruptive force on the interior.
“He's willing to be coached every single day,” Ash stated. “He takes coaching and applies it the next series or the next day, whenever he's getting it. He just shows up with a competitive spirit, trying to be the best that he can be.”
Maturity has played a factor in Onye’s ascension in the offseason, but he’s also starting to learn how to use his size and strength to his advantage.
He's big, he's strong, he's physical,” explained Ash. “He's learning to play like that. He's not fast and really quick and fancy, but, man, he's violent, and he's doing a great job with his hands and getting great knockback there in the run game.”
Onye’s role will center on mucking up the middle, but Ash believes the rising senior has the tools to impact the passing game as well.
“He's understanding how to rush the passer with his ability,” said Ash. “Like some of the other guys, where he was at when I first got here to where he's at today is really an impressive transformation.”
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