Witness emerging defensive stars like freshman Rodney Dunham and veteran Armel Mukam battle for dominance in Notre Dame's pivotal spring showcase.
The annual Blue Gold game kicks off inside of Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday afternoon which signifies the end of spring training. We're one day closer to fall camp and one day closer to the Irish kicking off their season up at Lambeau Field. Like every year, there's players to watch in the spring game, and even though there's not an on-going battle for QB1 this year, there's still a good amount of players to watch.
Defensive coordinator Chris Ash is heading into year two with the Fighting Irish defense but he's breaking in three new position coaches with Charlie Partridge, Brian Jean-Mary and Aaron Henry going through their first spring game in South Bend. I'm not expecting to see a lot of Leonard Moore, Adon Shuler, Boubacar Traore or Tae Johnson in Saturday's Blue Gold game, but there's a lot of players to keep your eye on, and it starts with an exciting true freshman defensive end.
Rodney Dunham - Defensive End No. 44
This is a loaded defensive end room in South Bend. Both starters from last season, Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young both return, they picked up Keon Keeley from Alabama in the portal and Loghan Thomas is back in the rotation. There's two true freshman who will also be working their way into the rotation this fall and that's Ebenezer Ewetade and Rodney Dunham. Both players are further along than what I had hoped they would be at the end of spring, and the Blue Gold game is a time to shine.
Dunham is a player that was expected to make a splash this spring, and he hasn't disappointed. We've seen him at multiple practices and he simply doesn't look like a freshman. He's not built like a freshman nor does he play like a freshman. His football IQ is farther ahead than most true freshman defensive ends and his size at 6-4, 242-pounds make him look like an upper classman. Saturday will be his first opportunity to shine in front of the Notre Dame fanbase and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do.
Armel Mukam - Defensive Tackle No. 88
At one point in the offseason, defensive tackle was a question mark for this football team. Between the expected departures of players headed to the draft, the future of Jason Onye uncertain and Armel Mukam's entrance into the portal, the most veteran player in the defensive tackle rotation for an early part of the offseason was Elijah Hughes who transferred in from USC during the 2025 offseason. Since then, Onye was granted a 6th-year, Mukam withdrew his name from the portal and they picked up Tionne Gray and Francis Brewu from the portal.
Mukam is the oldest player on the watchlist for me between offense and defense. He's been a player that's had tremendous upside since coming to South Bend. Now, it's time to put that on full display. He's been taking reps with the first team routinely throughout spring. Now, we need to see it on Saturday and it carry over into the rest of the offseason and into the fall. A strong performance on Saturday will go a long way towards his breakout in 2026.
Jayden Sanders - Cornerback No. 12
This secondary is absolutely loaded, but there were some questions around the depth at cornerback. It had nothing to do with the overall skill, but the level of experience. At some positions, the two deep could have a true freshman, or two, depending on how the rest of the offseason went. Former Michigan cornerback Jayden Sanders was an underrated pickup in this past portal cycle. As a true freshman with the Wolverines, Sanders played 303 snaps and started two games against Central Michigan and Nebraska on the road.
This spring, he's played every cornerback position. We've seen him line up at boundary, field and nickel corner. I'm interested to see where he plays on Saturday and if there's a spot where he thrives in the most. Sanders is a wild card in this year's portal class, not in a bad way. More so, I know he's going to make an impact with this team in 2026, the question is where it will be not if it will happen.
Joey O'Brien - Safety No. 20
There might not have been a more highly touted recruit nationally for the Irish than safety Joey O'Brien. The 6-5, 200-pound Pennsylvania native gained a lot of attention during the recruiting cycle and ended up at Notre Dame where he has the opportunity to make an immediate impact. The Irish return arguably the best safety duo in the country in Johnson and Shuler and have arguably one of the best No. 3's in the country in Luke Talich.
Over the past two years, they've played a four-man safety rotation and depending on the formation, there's up to three of them out there at the same time. O'Brien brings immediate depth and exceptional talent to the safety position at Notre Dame. Saturday will be his first opportunity to do it inside of the stadium with a crowd watching him. I'm looking forward to seeing what this talented true freshman does tomorrow afternoon.
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