Armel Mukam’s Notre Dame Return Has Led to Breakout Opportunity in 2026

It’s hard to find a better story during Notre Dame’s offseason than defensive lineman Armel Mukam.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder entered the Transfer Portal in January and took a round of visits, including trips to Georgia Tech and Virginia.

But when head coach Marcus Freeman, defensive coordinator Chris Ash and new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge made it clear they wanted Mukam back at Notre Dame, the decision to return to South Bend was an easy one.

“The biggest thing is just how special this university is, how special the coaching staff is, how special the locker room is,” Mukam stated. “You go on all these visits and you kind of realize, ‘Whoa, Notre Dame truly is special.’

“I spent three years here, and I didn't really have an understanding of how special it is. I kind of took it for granted.” 

Ash saw the potential in Mukam a year ago.

“I did because if I didn't think so, we wouldn't have fought like hell to keep him here,” Ash said when asked if he saw Mukam making this type of move. “We had a lot of players last year that were older than him. He's put in the time, and he's earned the opportunities that he's gotten here through training camp.

‘The thing that I liked about him is that last year, even though he wasn't getting reps on game day, he was working extremely hard to help improve himself and improve the team.”

Mukam hasn’t taken anything for granted since returning to the program.

Over the last nine months, he has become one of the most talked-about players on the Notre Dame roster. Not only did Mukam pull his name out of the portal, but he has put himself in position to potentially start when the Irish open the 2026 season against Wisconsin on September 6.

It’s been an impressive turnaround, and Mukam is quick to give credit to the people around him.

“The biggest thing is you have good teammates and then you have someone like Coach Partridge who worked with a lot of good players at the collegiate level and NFL level,” explained Mukam. “It shows by the way he teaches, the way he approaches the game. All the credit goes to him.” 

Mukam quickly discovered Partridge’s list of pupils is long when he researched his new position coach, and that only made returning to Notre Dame more enticing.

The last nine months have been about buying into Partridge’s coaching, and that didn’t take long for Mukam.

Partridge identified a small detail that was holding Mukam back and fixing it has helped fuel his rise up the depth chart.

“I think the biggest thing is he individualized his coaching,” said Mukam. “He's not going to coach every single player the same way. It's different things in my game.

“For example, I didn't even know I was false twitching off the ball. That's something he pointed out as soon as he got here in the spring. That's something I was able to work on and something that has made a huge difference.” 

Fixing his first-step technique wasn’t the only area where Mukam has grown. His football IQ has also taken a significant jump under Partridge.

“Just the small details in the way of seeing the game, getting a beat on what the offense is going to do depending on what formation I see in front of me, where the running back is placed,” Mukam explained. “Just a bunch of stuff like that has helped me play the game a little faster than I was before.”

Mukam and the Notre Dame defensive line have also benefited from Partridge’s ability to provide immediate feedback on the practice field.

Partridge doesn’t wait until the meeting room to correct the small details. More often than not, the feedback comes immediately after a rep.

“In the midst of the action, you don't necessarily see your footwork, but he will,” stated Mukam. “If he tells you, ‘Yo, put your right foot in the ground more,’ it's like, OK, next rep let me try to put my right foot in the ground. When you do that, he's going to point out something else. He's always wanting us to get better at something, which at the end of the day makes us better football players.” 

Embracing a new position coach is far from the first time Mukam has had to buy into something new.

When he arrived at Notre Dame, Mukam was a 255-pound defensive end. He added nearly 50 pounds to transition to the interior of the defensive line, a process that came with plenty of frustration.

“It's been a hard transition,” Mukam said. “I've been playing defensive tackle for three years. I would say it took me three years to get the gist of it – change and transform my body in order to be able to sustain the double teams and the blocking side. I'm happy I made the transition and it’s been a fun journey.” 

Now, Mukam is embracing the work that comes with taking another step forward.

He has taken it upon himself to put in extra work to improve his weaknesses, including spending time in the yoga studio.

“I did a lot of yoga because I had tight hips and I wanted to play a little lower,” explained Mukam. “That has helped. I also was working with the strength and conditioning staff on my mobility every single day in the spring. I think that has paid dividends.”

The Fighting Irish are 10 days away from starting the 2026 campaign, and Mukam is ready to show that all of the work has been worth it.

“It's all about confidence,” said Mukam. “When you have teammates and coaches that believe in you, obviously it's going to bring out the best of you on the field. It's always having a good locker room, good coaches, getting better every single day. At the end of the day, I'm just putting my best foot forward and hoping to be the best version of myself come Saturdays.”

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