Returning stars and emerging talent fuel a Notre Dame defense poised to dominate from fall kickoff to championship game.
Notre Dame's defense returns a lot of fire power and star power. Players like Boubacar Traore, Leonard Moore, Drayk Bowen, Adon Shuler and a host of other talented defenders return to the starting lineup this season. Last season, after a very concerning start, they turned things around and finished the year as a Top 10 defense, but can they be that in 2026 from start to finish? Will defensive coordinator Chris Ash be able to put together a complete season? Will there be key breakouts from players like Bryce Young, Madden Faraimo, Keon Keeley and a host of others?
Today on the Irish Breakdown Podcast, we dove into what returns, what was lost, the expectations and the key to a successful season. We also broke down the questionable On3 Way-Too-Early Top 100 players rankings at the start of the show and capped off the episode with a mail bag. But the main focus was on the 2026 Notre Dame defense and the potential dominance they could have in college football this upcoming season.
You can watch the entire show here:
Here are some topics we discussed on today's show:
On Star Power On Defense...
"What you return is exception and you return everything. You return star-power, you return key rotation guys and gritty veterans and you need all of it to win a National Championship. You're going to need all hands on deck to be the team that you're meant to be. That's why we believe that this defense has the potential to be one of the best we've seen come through South Bend in quite some time. The star power returning to this defense is outstanding."
On Playing Elite Defense All Season...
"You're always going to have the most talented group on the field in 2026. You will not play a team in the regular season that, top to bottom, have better players than you have. There's no excuse for another Texas A&M performance or a Purdue performance. Now it's time to play that way all season and avoid the ups and downs. You'll have your ups and downs, but can you be a dominant defense from start to finish? It took Indiana a game, but then they fixed it pretty quickly and they were rocking and rolling."
On Defensive Line Living Up To Expectations...
"The D-Line has to be as good as we think it can be. The defensive line was very good last season; it was good the year before. I believe that, just with God-given ability, this is certainly more of a talented and bigger defensive line that we've seen. Losing some of the guys they lost is nothing to sniff at, but adding the guys you added compounded with the guys you have returning leaves you extremely confident about the the immediate future of the defensive line."
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