New talent joins returning veterans as Notre Dame's defensive tackle room undergoes a dramatic transformation. Can they achieve championship-level play?
The interior of the Notre Dame defensive line will have an entirely new look heading into the 2026 season. There's some familiar faces with Jason Onye and Elijah Hughes returning to the rotation, but there's some key newcomers who will have to make a splash whether that's in the starting lineup or being a key member of the rotation. New defensive line coach Charlie Partridge will have to get the most out of everyone in the room to get this unit performing at a championship-caliber level.
The talent is evident and there's key members like Onye and Pitt transfer Francis Brewu who bring a certain level of experience to the table. But, by and large, this is a relatively unproven group of talented players. How will they perform this upcoming season? That remains to be see, but the degree of talent in the room is undeniable. Where will they rank at the end of the regular season? That's also a relative unknown, but we take a dive into where this room could rank nationally by the end of the season on today's edition of the Irish Breakdown podcast.
You can watch the entire episode here:
Here are some of the main topics we discussed on today's show:
On Charlie Partridge's Impact...
"The run defense is an area where I think there's room for improvement. Notre Dame did great; they held opponents to 99 yards per game. Indiana held opponents to 77.2, Georgia held teams to 81.5, Miami held teams to 89.3 and Ohio State held teams to 89.4. There's an area for improvement. I think there's another level that they can get to and need to get to in order to say that Notre Dame has an elite run defense. That's the area where I have the biggest question marks."
On The Transfer Portal Players Impact...
"What makes me think that this room has the chance to be elite, is you take all of the returners and the incoming freshman and then you add Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray to the mix. I think that's what takes it over the top. With Francis Brewu, you're talking about a guy with a proven track record. With Tionne Gray, you're talking about a player that wants to take on a bigger role. The veterans in the room will set the foundation for the room, but these highly talented portal players will help get this unit closer to it's ceiling, which is exceptionally high."
On The Up And Comers On The Notre Dame Defensive Line...
"In an ideal world, you have both of these guys breakout, but really you just need one of Armel Mukam or Christopher Burgess to become an impact rotation piece along the interior. Both players are exceptionally talented and might have the highest talent ceiling in the group. But both players will have to prove they can handle to workload, and it will look different. Will this be the year Armel breaks out? How with Chris Burgess handle moving to the interior? Those questions will be answered in the offseason, but how well they get answered will dictate their level of breakout."
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