For the past several seasons, Notre Dame defensive line and position coach Al Washington have been under scrutiny from the fan base for their apparent 'lack of production' or performance on the recruiting trail. Sometimes, those two get lumped together, which I never agreed with, but some have viewed their performance as underwhelming. While in some years that's been the case, I don't think that is true this season. I believe that the defensive line in South Bend, Indiana is one of the most underrated units in the entire country, and the numbers back that up.
No, Notre Dame doesn't have a player on the defensive line with the perception and reputation as a Colin Simmons from Texas or a David Bailey from Texas Tech. What they did have, however, is an extremely productive season. How productive? Well, they led the entire country in total pressures as a defense for starters. The Irish finished the regular seasons with 285 total pressures when last season, in 16 games, they finished with 272 total pressures. What's even more impressive about that number is that the defensive line accounted for 206 of the 285 total pressures.
The defense also accounted for a total of 79 hits plus sacks on the quarterback in the regular season; Washington's unit accounted for 51 of the 79 total hits plus sacks on the quarterback. Averaged out over the course of a season, the Notre Dame defensive line averaged 17.2 pressures and 4.3 hits plus sacks on the quarterback per game. It's a shame we didn't get to see what this unit would have done in the post season; I think they would have put up some gaudy numbers.
Now, the credit doesn't solely go to Washington and the defensive line. We started to see a drastic turnaround in the production after the coverage structure began to marry the pass rush scheme. It's not a coincidence that when Notre Dame's defensive line started producing more pressures, the secondary went on a streak of picking off opposing quarterbacks and finish the season ranked 1st in the country in interceptions (21). Defensive backs coach and defensive pass game coordinator Mike Mickens also played a role in the pass rush improvement.
Like last season, Washington and this unit were able to overcome some significant injuries while benefitting from a few others returning from injury in 2024. Defensive end Boubacar Traore might not be the house hold name Rueben Bain was this season, but that's subject to change heading into 2026. Traore ended the season leading the team in total pressures with 31 and total hits plus sacks on the quarterback with 15. For reference, Bain the defensive end from Miami, ended the season with 58 total pressures, 27 more pressures that Traore, but wasn't as efficient. Bain tallied 10 hits plus sacks on the quarterback when everything was said and done. Traore also played in one less game than Bain.
The most impressive facet of this defensive line's ascension was how rapidly it happened. They finished the first three games with 12 total hits plus sacks on the quarterback but proceeded to finished the regular season with 79 total. They went from averaging 4.0 hits plus sacks a game to over 7.0 hits plus sacks. Washington has an extremely strong foundation to build on with this unit and their performance in 2025 will play a huge role in that coming to fruition.
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