It’s no secret Notre Dame’s defense started the 2025 campaign slowly.
In hindsight, it makes sense. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash was getting reacquainted with the college game and learning his personnel, while the players were learning a new scheme and trying to find comfort within it.
That should be different in 2026.
Notre Dame enters the season with a quiet confidence on the defensive side of the ball. The Irish have a year of experience in Ash’s system and just about every key piece from last year’s defense is back.
Senior linebacker Jaiden Ausberry believes that comfort is a major reason Notre Dame has its swagger back.
“I would say that I feel a lot more comfortable, as well as the defense, getting comfortable with Coach Ash’s scheme,” said Ausberry. “I feel like the first year it took everybody just a few games to get used to, but right now everybody's on the same page. Everybody feels a lot more comfortable.”
How can you tell the Irish are more comfortable? Ausberry pointed to the communication on the first day of fall camp.
The defense was on the same page. There weren’t the same breakdowns that showed up at times last year.
For Ausberry, playing Mike backer during the spring only accelerated that development. It forced him to understand both linebacker positions and placed an even greater emphasis on communication.
“I would say it felt good, especially being in Coach Ash’s scheme for the second year,” stated Ausberry. “The communication is a lot more important, especially me personally playing Mike in the spring, I feel it has helped a lot, knowing both linebacker roles.”
When the Irish kick off the season against Wisconsin, Ausberry expects to see the Irish linebackers flying to the ball without the hesitation that they played with at times last fall.
“I feel like for us we can flow to the ball easier, find the ball easier,” Ausberry explained. “It's more see ball, get ball, especially with the concepts that we're running. I feel like that allows everybody to make plays on the ball.”
The linebackers should also benefit from what Notre Dame has put in front of them.
The Irish invested heavily in the interior of the defensive line this offseason, landing Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray from the transfer portal. Those additions have already made life easier for the linebackers by giving them bigger bodies to work behind.
“I would say I've grown a lot,” Ausberry said. “It's easier to find the football, with those guys taking up a lot of the offensive line and taking up a lot of space.”
Another key piece in front of Ausberry is Armel Mukam.
The 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman entered the transfer portal this offseason before ultimately deciding to return to Notre Dame following a push from defensive line coach Charlie Partridge.
Mukam has worked his way into the first-team defense and Ausberry has noticed the improvement.
“Armel has really improved,” stated Ausberry. “He's gotten bigger, stronger. It looks like the game's slowing down for him, so he's really been developing a lot.”
The Irish linebacker corps might be the best in the country as Notre Dame returns five players who found themselves in the rotation a year ago.
It would also have been easy for some of those players to look elsewhere for more playing time.
Instead, they stayed and Ausberry believes that says something about the room.
“I would say it's the closest it's ever been since I've been here,” explained Ausberry. “Not only because of what we do on the field, but I would say it's the off-season. We spend a lot of time off the field, getting close, hanging with each other in the regular spaces. I feel like once we get on the field, it makes everybody a lot more comfortable.”
That closeness has created a healthy level of competition. The players are pushing one another for playing time while also helping each other improve.
“It always pushes everybody a little harder, but we're always helping each other and giving each other tips,” Ausberry said. “I feel like being in that room with everybody is really a blessing.
“If you want to be the best, you've got to be around the best, so that's something that I always have in mind.”
For Ausberry, his individual development has centered on getting beyond simply knowing the defense and reaching 500-level learning.
“I've definitely grown the most in the run game,” said Ausberry. “I think my pass game has always been my strong suit. I think my run game has always been something I needed to develop, but ever since I started playing in 2024, it's gotten better as I've gotten stronger. Also, with the tempo of the game slowing down too, I think I've really been growing in that area of the game.”
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