Targeting a dominant 2026 season, Notre Dame's Bryce Young hones his craft, focusing on hip mechanics and intense daily competition for a leap forward.
Notre Dame's defensive line finished the 2025 season as one of, if not the most, underrated unit in the entire country. At the conclusion of the regular season, they led the country in total pressures and played a major role in the Irish rattling off 10-straight victories to end the year. Rising junior Bryce Young was second on the team in overall pressures and he returns this year and is working hard towards a breakout in 2026.
"There are small things I’m working on now that are going to pay dividends," Young explained. "I know because I can already feel it. Coach [Charlie] Partridge has been a great addition. There’s so much stuff and little things that can improve your game and shave those seconds off. He’s helped me a lot.
"One of the biggest things is my hips," Young continued. "Making sure my hips are turned towards the quarterback and getting up-field, that’s the biggest thing. I already feel it improve my game so much as I continue to grow and work out what works for me and what doesn’t work for me."
Partridge has been an outstanding edition to the defensive line room, replacing former defensive line coach Al Washington who's headed down south to coach for the Miami Dolphins. Young played a key part in the rotation in 2024 during their playoff run under the tutelage of Washington. The 6-6, 260-pound edge rusher attributes his success and growth to both coaches.
"First of all, I want to thank Coach Washington for everything he’s done," Young shared. "He helped me a lot as a player and on this journey. He’s given me so much insight and I’m extremely grateful for that. Adding Coach Partridge to my journey has been great too. He has so much knowledge of the game. He’s been in the game forever. He knows things and he’s telling me things he’s seen from his many years of experience that I’m actually seeing on the field and I can apply it. It’s really cool."
Young has been putting in the work on the practice field day in and day out. Throughout the spring, Notre Dame has done a lot more 'best on best' type of work meaning he gets to go against redshirt freshman Will Black on almost a daily basis. The two rising stars have been putting in the work which will pay major dividends come the fall.
"Will is great," Young stated. "We compete every day. He is definitely helping me get better and I’m helping him get better. So the collaboration is there and also being a good teammate. We’re talking to each other after each rep and ask each other what do you feel I have to work on. He has all the athletic traits. He’s a freak of nature, he's huge and quick out of his set. It’s been great to have someone like that to go against every day."
Notre Dame has the best safety tandem in the country, the best returning cornerback in the country, the best linebacker rotation in the country and with Youngs emergence, could have the No. 1 defensive end duo in the country. The talent has always been there for the North Carolina native, but it's his evolution as a football player that's turning heads.
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